Report: IRGC Commander Disappears After Israel’s Channel 14 Reveals His $700M Corruption Scheme

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is the beating heart of the regime in Iran, a powerful, wealthy, and highly influential military body that answers directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. For years, the organization has been perceived as a unified, closed, and internally intimidating bloc. However, sensitive investigative information published by Israel’s Channel 14 points to deep cracks within this formidable body.

In a rare development, through a source with close knowledge of what is happening inside the IRGC, Channel 14 discovered that a very senior commander in the organization is primarily concerned with himself, and not with the survival of the organization tasked with preserving the power of the ayatollahs’ regime.

The man at the center of the story

Meet Kamaluddin Navizadeh. A member of the Revolutionary Guards of Afghan origin, who previously lived in Russia and recently returned to Afghanistan. Navizadeh maintains very strong ties with Taliban leaders, who currently rule the country. He is under U.S. sanctions and was formerly close to one of the most powerful figures in the Iranian regime, Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force who was killed by the Americans.

Today, according to the information in our possession, Navizadeh maintains close ties with Soleimani’s successor, Esmail Qaani, the current commander of the Quds Force, who was mistakenly thought to have been eliminated in Israel’s Rising Lion’s campaign.

The new partnership

After Soleimani’s assassination, Qaani and Navizadeh became very close partners, and not only in business. According to our information, Qaani began selling equipment and goods belonging to the Revolutionary Guards to Russia through Navizadeh. Oil, weapons, and agricultural equipment were sold, all under the cover of circumventing U.S. sanctions. Channel 14 even obtained documentation from a port on the Caspian Sea where IRGC oil is stored on Russian territory.

For example, on paper, it appears to be a shipment of corn from Russia to Iran. In reality, this is a well-known trick. The documents do not state who the real recipient is. The goods pass through shell companies in Russia and supposedly reach a civilian Iranian entity rather than a military one. At the same time, there is also movement in the opposite direction, from Iran to Russia. This makes it possible to disguise money transfers and move IRGC funds outside Iran without them appearing in official records.

The big money and the problem

So far, this may sound technical. But in Iran, when money is involved, things get complicated. According to the information received by Channel 14, the volume of recent transactions between the Revolutionary Guards and Russia amounts to about $4 billion. It turns out not all of that money reaches its official destination. According to our source, who is closely familiar with what is happening inside the IRGC, a significant sum — about $700 million — has recently been transferred into the hands of Qaani and Navizadeh.

Here a third figure enters the picture in the money-transfer mechanism: Zakia, Navizadeh’s wife. According to our information, she is illiterate in every language except her mother tongue. Nearly all assets are registered in her name, including real estate, accounts, and investments. On paper, everything belongs to her. We have in our possession a contract for the purchase of a hotel in Uzbekistan signed in Zakia’s name. In addition, two apartments in a luxury complex in Moscow are registered in her name, as well as a villa in Turkey. These are only part of the family’s assets.

Thus, according to the information revealed in this investigation, senior members of the Iranian establishment are not only bypassing sanctions, they are effectively looting the IRGC’s own coffers. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being transferred outside Iran, outside official records and beyond oversight, into the private pockets of Quds Force commander Qaani and his partner Navizadeh. This information, it appears, is also beginning to trickle up to other senior officials within the Revolutionary Guards. Serious questions are already being raised about where the money is really going.

This is not just a story about corruption. It is evidence of the harsh reality facing Iran and the Revolutionary Guards, a reality that suggests senior regime figures, including Qaani, understand they must already begin preparing for the day after.

The new development: Qaani disappears

After failing in his attempts to refute the suspicions against him, the whereabouts of Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani have reportedly become unknown.

According to information obtained by Channel 14, after the revelations Qaani was questioned at the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards. His request to meet with Supreme Leader Khamenei was denied. Following that, he convened an urgent meeting with three senior officials involved in Iranian oil exports, in a desperate attempt to shift the blame onto his partner, Navizadeh.

The three figures are Mohammad Hadi Borani, who is involved in Iranian oil loading operations and is highly regarded within the Revolutionary Guards; Azar Sabouri, a senior Quds Force official with an extensive background in operations outside Iran — the two are responsible for exporting Iranian oil abroad. The third is Seyed Hossein Mousavi, a Revolutionary Guards member who was sent to Uzbekistan to bring Navizadeh and his wife back, so far unsuccessfully.

Our sources report that Qaani’s attempt to place responsibility on his partner failed. At the same time, it has emerged that the two allegedly preferred to invest the stolen money in gold and diamonds, which are harder to track than real estate. For example, Navizadeh’s wife reportedly purchased rings worth an estimated six million dollars.

The Channel 14 reports continue to generate widespread reaction in Iran, where officials are closely following the embarrassing information emerging from the top ranks of the Revolutionary Guards. The revelations expose deep corruption within the regime and are causing significant embarrassment amid an internal crisis that could threaten its stability.