TEHRAN - The most massive embezzlement case in the history of Iran has triggered a wave of resignations and dismissals of the country’s banking officials. 

After coming under pressure over the $2.6 billion embezzlement case, Mahmoud Reza Khavari has resigned as the governor of Bank Melli, it was reported on Tuesday. 

The resignation has been accepted by Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Shamseddin Hosseini, who also dismissed Farzad Ahmadi, a member of the Board of Directors of Bank Melli.

The most serious irregularities occurred at Bank Melli, according to reports. 

Meanwhile, Mohammad Azizi, an advisor of the economy minister, said on Tuesday that the governor of Bank Saderat has been dismissed from his post, adding that the governor of Saman Bank will also be dismissed from his post in the near future.

Bank Melli is a state-run bank and its governor can be dismissed by the minister of economic affairs and finance, but since Bank Saderat and Saman Bank are private banks, their governors can only be dismissed by the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Azizi explained. 

Judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, who was assigned to investigate the embezzlement case on September 15, said on Monday that 22 suspects have been interrogated in the case and arrest warrants have been issued for all of them. 

“A number of these people are being held in temporary detention, and some have been released on bail,” Mohseni-Ejei added.