Spotlight: Houshang Ansari
By: Sohrab Ferdows
sohrab@excite.com
William Sullivan in his book, "Mission to Iran" says, when in the year 1978 in a private party at his residence in Tehran, where a group of high ranking Iranian government officials, senators and MPs had attended, spoke about "time for changing things in Iran" all the guests spoke against it at the dinner table and defended how the Shah was handling everything greatly! Later when guests were leaving the house and Mr. Sullivan was accompanying them to the door one by one, many of the same people expressed their agreement with "need for change" privately and quietly at the door! From those, Sullivan remembers the first who expressed such agreement who was a high ranking officer in NIOC and held ministerial positions in the past, without mentioning his name. From description of course, no one fits such figure other than Hushang Ansary, head of NIOC in 1978 and former minister of economy and finance.
Later in the same year, the infamous "list" of names of the people who had taken money out of the country was secretly circulated by National Bank staff with the name of Mr. Ansary on top with the figure of $500 million! We now know that the list was wrong about many of the names mentioned in there but when we look at the financial activities of Mr. Ansary, one can not help but to remember the list! Mr. Hushang Ansary left the country a few months before revolution for "health" reasons when he went to visit Kharg island industrial and oil exporting facilities. Mr. Ansary moved to United States quietly and kept low key for a couple of years until he started his activities in 1982 by creating an investment consultant company named Parman Capital Group, along with Mr. Hassan-Ali Mehran the former Iranian National Bank director, with $5 million initial investment.
A few years later In 1987, Parman Group took over "Banco di Caribe" with total asset of about $500 million. And a bit later Mr. Ansary also became the biggest sharholder in Texa-based National Oilwell Inc which had close to $3 billion revenue in year 2007. Later on, National Oilwell Inc was merged with IRI International Corp. which Mr. Ansary and family (Hushang, Shahla, Nina and Nader Ansary) own over 90% of its shares currently. A look at some of National Oilwell trades with the symbol of NOV (NYSE) indicates the volume of wealth which is toyed with by Mr. Ansary in stock market in recent years:
Trading Date Name insiderTrading.asp?symbol=NOV&sortBy=name|D Title Type Shares Traded Price
09/02/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 80,000 $19.17
09/05/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 220,000 $19.30
09/08/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 58,000 $19.65
09/24/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 50,000 $19.00
11/07/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 15,000 $0.00
11/07/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 30,000 $0.00
12/04/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 100,000 $20.59
12/12/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 125,000 $0.00
12/12/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 40,000 $0.00
12/12/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 15,000 $0.00
12/23/03 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Gift 20,000 $0.00
09/20/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 50,000 $32.15
09/20/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 18,700 $32.20
09/20/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 1,300 $32.21
09/21/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 30,000 $32.00
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 3,900 $32.51
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 8,600 $32.54
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 5,300 $32.55
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 13,600 $32.56
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 11,200 $32.57
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 5,200 $32.58
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 500 $32.59
09/22/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 1,700 $32.60
05/05/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 250,000 $27.01
06/21/04 ANSARY HUSHANG Director Sell 150,000 $30.31
Stewart & Stevenson LLC is another oil related company of Mr. Ansary with close to $1 billion in revenue in year 2006. There is a long list of huge investments and "charity" works ($15 million grant to Weill Cornell Medical College for stem cell research is one of them) in variety of fields in United States which range from education to medial centers, to highly specialized services in oil industry and....etc... etc... Mr. Ansary is also a trustee for Asia Society, a "non-profit" institution which has been founded by and in operation under leadership of Rockefellers since 1956. Ansary family have been very good friends with Bush Family since the time they moved to United States and resided in Texas in year 1979. The friendship is so close that at this point, Mr. Ansary is CEO of Bush family trust fund while continuing to maintain very close relationship. Mr. Ansary has also had many generous contributions to presidential campaign for George Bush sr., George Bush jr. and other republican party candidates for the House and Senate.
In most of these investments, we can see some familiar names of American famous politicians as Mr. Ansary's partners. Mr. Ansary has a daughter named "Nina" and a son named "Nader" who both have been given extensive amount of wealth and investment by their good father! Nina Ansary is also a share holder in some of the companies belonging to her father and at the same time running a political organization in the name of Iranians in United States!
The name of this political organization is "Iranian American Political Action Committee" which in their website declare their mission as follows:
· To support and promote the election of candidates for federal, state and local office, regardless of party affiliation who are attuned to the domestic needs and issues of the Iranian American communityUnder FAQ, they make it clear to have no affiliation with Islamic Republic regime and they do not take any position towards US-Iranian relation because it creates division in Iranian community. According to same document, the reason for creating "Iranian-American PAC" is to fill the vacume of Iranians achievents in the political arena of the United States through financial contributions and supporting Iranian candidates as "The reality of the American political system is that it is dependent on financial contributions".
· To support and promote Iranian American candidates for public office
· To support and advance legislation as it affects the concerns of the Iranian American community
· To encourage Iranian Americans to actively participate in the American electoral process
In another part regarding 2008 US presidential candidates we read:
"IAPAC is a registered bipartisan political action committee that contributes to candidates for public office. IAPAC focuses exclusively on domestic policy issues, such as civil liberties and immigration, and encourages Americans of Iranian descent to actively participate in civic affairs. As a bipartisan organization, IAPAC does not endorse one presidential candidate over another. Instead it focuses on providing information concerning candidate positions on relevant issues affecting the Iranian American community and on harnessing community efforts to support candidates of their own choosing. "In the news section we read:
"IAPAC Trustee to Serve as National Finance Chair for Clinton Campaign".IAPAC Trustee is no one other than Mr. Hassan Namazee who has been also working with John Kerry in 2004 presidential campaign and during President Clinton, he was nominated to become ambassador of United States in Argentina but was declined by the Senate. In year 2004 and during his controversial quarrel with SMCCDI and Mr. Pirooznia, an article appeared in FrontPage Magazine about Mr. Namazee which included some information regarding his connections to different political organizations and lobbying groups. In a part of that article we read:
"Nemazee is an influential figure with many friends in high places in groups such as the American-Iranian Council (AIC), the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), and the Iranian-American Bar Association (IABA). Nemazee’s name is also well known in Democratic Party circles. He was a prominent contributor to Bob Torricelli’s New Jersey Senate campaign. The multimillionaire entrepreneur also contributed $50,000 to his friend Al Gore’s Recount Fund (and $250,000 to the Gore campaign), $60,000 to Bill Clinton’s legal defense fund, and over $150,000 to the Democratic National Committee."In the year 2004, in an article which was published in Iranian.com, Ladan Afrasiabi, a commissioner in "Commission on Globalization" whose positions towards Islamic Republic is close to AIC, wrote:
"IAPAC -- the Iranian American Political Action Committee -- came to existence in 2003 following what seemed to be more of a "coup" inside American Iranian Council, when three of AIC board members, Hassan Nemazee, Akbar Ghahari and Faraj Aaalei collectively resigned from AIC and formed this well funded organization. Tapping into the financial and intellectual wealth of successful Iranians in the US and banking on their political ambitions, IAPAC is claiming to be the voice of the Iranian American diaspora in the US."As we can see in IAPAC website, board of directors include Mr. Nemazee and also Mrs Nina Ansary, daughter of Hushang Ansary with a lot of stake in Ansary foundation and other companies belonging to Ansary family. Mr Nemazee and Hushang Ansary along with Henry Kissinger are in Asia Society which is an organization created by Rockefellers who also is founder of Trilateral Commission, a world economic entity. Many high ranking politicians from all over the world have been or still are a member of. The list of membership in Trilateral Commission includes both President Carter and President George Bush sr. who used to be head of CIA for a few years before he was fired by Jimmy Carter in 1977 along with a group of a few hundred people who were suspected of being involved in “Watergate scandal”. George Bush sr. was well known among his fellow party members as an extremist and too partisan so that this matter almost caused him to be rejected as Presidential candidate of the party even though he was a member of “world elite” society.
During his candidacy, President Bush sr. was generously supported by his old friend, Mr. Hushang Ansary, his wife and Ansary foundation. Contributions of Mr. Hushang Ansary to Republican party is not limited to Bush sr. as he has made generous contributions for other members of Bush Family. A look at a few item in one of the lists of Mr. Ansary’s contributions may help us understand how wealthy this former minister, ambassador and CEO, under previous Iranian regime is while many other former Iranian officials were either killed or are living a very ordinary life!
ANSARY, HUSHANG THE HONORABLE
HOUSTON, TX 77002
IRI INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION COVERDELL, PAUL DOUGLAS (R)
Senate - GA
COVERDELL GOOD GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE;THE $1,000
general 09/30/98
ANSARY, HUSHANG HON
HOUSTON, TX 77002
IRI INTERNATIONAL CORP /campaign_contributions_to_politicians/donor_list.php?candidate_id=
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE (R) $15,000
primary 08/05/98
ANSARY, HUSHANG
HOUSTON, TX 77002
IRD INTERNATIONAL DODD, CHRISTOPHER J (D)
Senate - CT
98 FRIENDS OF CHRIS DODD $1,000
primary 03/09/98
ANSARY, HUSHANG
HOUSTON, TX 77002
IRI INTERNATIONAL CORP LANTOS, TOM (D)
House (CA 12)
TOM LANTOS FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE $1,000
primary 12/08/97
ANSARY, HUSHANG
HOUSTON, TX 77002
FIRST INTERSTATE BANK HATCH, ORRIN G (R)
Senate - UT
HATCH ELECTION COMMITTEE INC $1,000
primary 06/10/97
http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?97020083328
http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?97020083328
ANSARY, HUSHANG
HOUSTON, TX 77002
IRI HELMS, JESSE (R)
Senate - NC
NORTH CAROLINA VICTORY COMMITTEE $10,000
general 09/18/96
ANSARY, HUSHANG
HOUSTON, TX 77002
SUNRESORTS INT'L PRESSLER, LARRY (R)
Senate - SD
FRIENDS OF LARRY PRESSLER $1,000
primary 05/10/96
ANSARY, HUSHANG
HOUSTON, TX 77002
IRI INTERNATIONAL SMITH, GORDON HAROLD (R)
Senate - OR
GORDON SMITH FOR U S SENATE $1,000
general 01/16/96
ANSARY, HUSHANG AMBASSADOR
HOUSTON, TX 77002
IRI INTERNATIONAL CORP D'AMATO, ALFONSE M (R)
Senate - NY
FRIENDS OF SENATOR D'AMATO (1998 COMMITTEE) $1,000
primary 12/12/95
I just mentioned a few items but this particular list is much longer and can be viewed here: http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...&first=Hushang
And here: http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...&first=HUSHANG
And here for more recent ones: http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...&first=HUSHANG
According to this source, campaign contributions of Mr. Hushang Ansary for G.W. Bush in 2004 and Nina Ansary in 2008 was 100,000 dollars each under bundlers: http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/index.cfm
“Ansary, a member of the National Finance Committee of the Bush-Cheney Presidential Campaign, gave $270,000 to the Republican National Committee, according to federal filings.”
And Mrs. Ansary’s recent contributions:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...y&first=Shahla
Nina Ansary’s contributions:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...ary&first=nina
Nader Ansary’s contributions:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_...t=Ansary&st=CA
Frank C. Carlucci who was in board of directors of IRI international corp., one of Ansary’s companies, in his page writes about Hushang Ansary’s campaign contributions:
“Ansary left the country during the turmoil. (Crackdown on Corruption in Iran Could Ensnarl Shah. By By Jonothan C. Randal. The Washington Post, Nov 19, 1978.) Ansary donated at least $100,000 to the Republican National Committee in 1988. “As we can see, Mr. Asnary, after more than 20 years of end to previous regime in Iran, is still directed as “honorable ambassador” while the symbol of the regime which Mr. Ansary was its “ambassador”, the late Shah himself, was subject of despicable maltreatments and disrespect by Americans and their government and while their propaganda had filled the world with ridiculous exaggerations about late Shah’s wealth. Here it is! Mr. Ansary, a self proclaimed “philanthropist”, takes care of everything!
It is very obvious that Mr. Ansary left Iran in 1978 with quite a bit of money in his “pocket” to be able to start his investments in 1982 with a $5 million dollar company and escalate it quickly to hundreds of million dollars which recently have reached to multi billion dollars! Mr. Ansary’s hobby these days, on the side of “charity work” for his country, the United States, and playing with money in stock market, is buying “Islamic artifacts” while his wife Shahla is close friend of first lady of United States, Mrs. Laura Bush a “golf buddy” when she was in Texas. Shahla Ansary apparently is Mr. Ansary’s second wife. His first wife was Mariam Panahi whose father was minister of labor in Iran before he died in 1954. Mariam Panahi’s brother, Faradj who studied in Georgetown U in 1967, was a good friend of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and he was Mr. Pahani’s “frequent guest”. This was the same year when Hushang Ansary was appointed as ambassador to US. There is a lot more that could be brought up here and I just wanted to bring this to your attention that “where the money is” and why!
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15 comments:
Very interesting. We must not forget those Iranians who escaped to the USA where they had been the most trusted foreign friend of Iranians but lost everything after the revolution to scams, one such person was a great man called Abdoh.
I have some information about Mr. Abdoh and what the tough time he had during his last days. I learned this from an insider who worked at the bank where Mr. Abdoh kept his funds, in New York. For years Mr. Abdoh had worked and trusted Manufacturer's Hanover Bank which now is part of JP Morgan Chase and had transfered most of his cash to the same branch of bank in New York when the situation in Iran became unstable. The bank apparently arranged to put the money under other account names and when Abdoh requested access to his funds was refused even a dollar and after six months of battling the bank he died penniless under huge stress as a direct result of being exploited by people he trusted at a reputable bank such as Manny Hanny (this name given to Manufacturer's Hanover by its insiders). One son of Ali Abdoh was Reza Abdoh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Abdoh) a very famed and successful avant guard play-write and theatre director in New York who died a few years ago from Aids. Salar Abdoh in an interview with National Public Radio was telling the host about the way he and his brother had become destitute six months after the revolution, he explained that six months earlier he and his brother were picked up by a chauffeurs driven Rolls Royce and they ended up having to work six months later in the back of a Mexican restaurant peeling potatoes in Los Angeles and they were give tacos as payment for their work.
Another son of Abdoh's is Salar Abdoh (I should verify this since I have conflicting evidence on this relationship) a writer and a professor the City University of New York published a well received book called: "The Poet Game" and his recent book called "Opium" incidentally both books are about Islamic Terrorism.
This I hope will show an untold story of the terrible things that have happened to Iranians since the revolution, specially to a great man like Abdoh who would have been executed by the Ayatollahs if he remained in Iran and was eventually exploited by institutions here in the US taking advantage of the quagmire that Mr. Carter helped create in Iran. I wonder if the Mullahs in Iran really believe that one day they will see any of the money they are stealing from the Iranian people.
Intriguing, indeed. thanks.
Dear Aryamehr, remember last year, Asharaf Pahlavi wrote an article in memory of her brother??? I'm not able to access it. Do you have a copy?
Serendip
Dear Serendip,
Princess Ashraf Pahlavi's website seems to be down hence why you are not able to find the documents. I had a post on the article but since the image I was linking to was from HIH's website the photo is not showing:
http://aryamehr11.blogspot.com/2007/08/in-memory-of-my-brother-hih-princess.html
Thank you so much, Aryamehr jan. Keep up the excellent work.
Aryamehr,
Like you, I don't trust IAPAC and NIAC one bit. Shady people with shady agendas... Especially "Trita" Parsi!
Sohrab
Sohrab-jAn,
These are some of the more prominent lobby-groups of the Islamic Republic in the U.S.A. - did you know for one that NIAC (run by lobbyist Trita Parsi) has never condemned the human rights situation in Iran but has on the contrary tirelessly tried to push for normalization of ties between the U.S. and the terrorist establishment occupying Iran? and in particular pushing for further economic activity...
They conduct, in other words, "unofficial diplomacy" for the IRI by exploiting the openness of the American political system.
Then those bastards said his majesty stol alot of money from
BETOLMAL.
I think we should keep documenting these crimes, and keep all of these creminals in the spotlight, because believe me when this dertiy ISLAMIC regime is goen, they are all back to our beloved IRAN and start there acrivitys again.
So Aryamehr Jan Once again thanks for all of your dedication, and hard work.
Shahin,
You are exactly right: These people and their ilk will be the first ones to go back and open up shop if the regime manages to push or blackmail a weak U.S. administration (*cough-cough* Obama) towards normalizing relations with the "pragmatist" or "reformist" wing of the IRI.
FYI Ansari left Iran taking $200 million.
He bacame someone because of Mariam Panahi's family relationship to Jamshid Khabir, a wonderful man and an adjutant to His majesty.
Jamshid never had money and built his home section by section over a period of aboiut ten years.
He promoted and got positions for Hourshang, who had a less than pleasant personality and was about five feet tall! So nobody really liked or trusted him.
When Jamshid had to flee the country with his wife Marina, and without any money, he ended up in a one bedroom apartment in the south of France.
Though Houshang Ansari owed ALL his success and money (even indirectly what he took from Iran illegally) HE NEVER HELPED JAMSHID with any funds to help cover the old man's expenses.
With that kind of heartless attitude and lack of gratitude, Houshang "died" for me as a human being.
I knew all of them as you might gather and remember well the sneaky, snaky man that Houshang was in Iran so it was no shock but a disappointment that someone with tons of money did not help out the person to whom he owed everything.
What does IRI stand for in his company? Other than Islamic Regime of Iran? Regardless what he says.
EXELLENT article
I do not comprehend the nexus between the mission of your blog and the attacks on Hushang Ansary. As an Iranian one should be proud and motivated that an expatriate like Mr. Ansary has been able to be so succesful in this country and care to give back to countless charities.
Hamid,
I believe the content of the post explicitly states its purpose and isn't just a "baseless attack" which I infer is what you mean. The post is based on factual information and raises serious concerns - if Housang Ansari has connections with Islamic Republic loobyists it is not only MY concern but that of all freedom loving Iranians who have suffered under this barbaric Islamic Regime for the past three decades.
aryamehr
I can assure you that Mr. Ansary has no connections to the IRI, in accordance with his track record Mr. Ansary is a stuanch supporter of the Republican party and more importantly an unbiased donor to a plethora of charities.
My dear friend K,
It has been a long time since I have not heard from you. I hope you are doing well in all aspects of your life. I do visit your blog from time to time and can see your tireless activities which you should be proud of as I am.
I would like to point to an issue regarding Mr. Ansary's contributions to charities which has also been mentioned briefly in the article, to show the real value of his "philanthropic" activities, from the point of view of some Iranians who have lost not only job and all belongings, but also have lost their country where they used to live under safty, scurity and peace before the so called Islamic Revolution. I am sure that the wealth that Mr. Ansary had gathered during his years in Iran were enough to categorize him as a rich person. What charity did he start in the country that had originally provided him with opportunity to become a wealthy person? Where is the list of his contributions to any portion of the political establishmen in Iran? Where did he contribute to betterment of the people who provided Hushang Ansary the opportunity to climb to status of powerful and wealthy? Instead, Mr. Ansary mingled with centers of power in the foriegn land which he was sent to work for the nation.
The services that Mr. Ansary has provided to Islamic regime of Iran are not as important as the work that he did for his foriegn masters while working in high positions in pre-Islamic revolution era in Iran. Mr. Ansary's ancestry come from very religious sector of society and his connections to Islamic regime should not come as surprise. He had held the equelant position of a CEO for highly regarded religous establishment of "Imam Reza" in a period of his work in Iran before 1979. My question to those who want to be proud of people like Mr. Ansary is: why this man is still directed as "honorable ambassador"? Whose ambassador is he? The highest person in the establishment, which Mr. Ansary used to work for, the late HIM Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, is refered to with disrespect by all Americans who are connected with American establishment in one way or another. What honor did Mr. Ansary brought to his "ambassdorship"? To Americans, he is honorable because of the services that he provided to them while helping to destroy the establishment in the country which same Americans were not too pleased with.
As I explained in my letter to the lawyer who thought he could force me to stay quiet with indirect threat, there are tons of information and evidence in my possessin about the subject matter of this article which are more than acceptable in any credible court of law.
I just wanted to say hello to a friend and add a little note in case someone needs help with understanding of the issues discussed in the article. Please visit my blogs and share:
http://sohrab-toofaan.blogspot.ca/
http://toofaan-articles.blogspot.ca/
http://toofaan-pesian.blogspot.ca/
With grattitude and best regards
Sohrab Ferdows
Dear Sohrab,
Great to hear from you old friend and thanks for your note.
Ever since our first exchanges, many years ago now!, I've appreciated your vast source of knowledge and miss the heated debates we had acros different forums.
Hope all is well with you and your dearest and please do keep in touch.
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