Man Found With $70 Million Check Was Iranian Central Bank Chief

By Eric Brown | February 02 2013 11:19 PM

A previously unidentified man who was caught attempting to enter Germany last month with a check worth about $70 million in his baggage has now been named.

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On Sunday, the German weekly newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported the well-heeled mystery man was the former head of Iran’s central bank, Tahmasb Mazaheri, according to the Associated Press.

On Friday, the German customs agency issued a statement saying that on Jan. 21, its officials at the Duesseldorf International Airport found the check for 300 million Venezuelan bolivars issued by the Bank of Venezuela in the luggage of an unidentified 59-year-old man.

Mazaheri was governor of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran between 2007 and 2008, according to the bank's online site.

Bild am Sonntag reported that German authorities are investigating possible money laundering in the connection with the check, AP said.

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