TEHRAN, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The missing $1 billion from the oil coffers in the Iranian treasury must be investigated, said the head of the Iranian energy committee.
A state audit from earlier this year found the Iranian Oil Ministry failed to deposit $1.05 billion into state accounts related to surplus oil revenues.
Hamid-Reza Katouzian, the chairman of the energy committee in the Iranian Parliament, said the matter required further investigation, the Mehr News Agency reports.
Several of the outstanding issues related to negligence in the depositing of revenue into the Oil Stabilization Fund, a fund for excess oil revenue.
The missing oil revenue was raised as a campaign issue by conservative Iranian presidential contender Mohsen Rezaei during the June presidential contest.
Rezaei had earlier blamed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the missing oil revenue, promising voters it would be returned.
Ahmadinejad denied any wrongdoing from his administration.
