EIKO

EIKO

The Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO) (Persian: ستاد اجرایی فرمان امام, Setâd-e Ejrây-ye Farmân-e Emâm), also known as the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Directive or simply Setad, is a parastatal organization in the Islamic Republic of Iran, under direct control of the Supreme Leader of Iran. It was created from thousands of properties confiscated in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A Reuters investigation found that the organization built "its empire on the systematic seizure of thousands of properties belonging to ordinary Iranians", also seizing property from members of religious minorities, business people and Iranians living abroad; at times falsely claiming that the properties were abandoned.Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini originally ordered three of his aides to take care of and distribute the confiscated property to charity. However, under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the organization has been acquiring property for itself. It has grown into a major center of economic power in Iran. Holdings include large amounts of real estate and 37 companies, covering nearly every sector of Iranian industry, including finance, oil, and telecommunications. While its accounts are secret even to the Iranian parliament, a 2013 estimate by Reuters news agency put the total value of Setad's holdings at $95 billion (made up of about $52 billion in real estate and $43 billion in corporate holdings). In 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on the organization and some of its corporate holdings, referring to it as "a massive network of front companies hiding assets on behalf of ... Iran's leadership."

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