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Coll 28/3(2) ‘Persia. Financial situation.’ [79r] (157/817)
The record is made up of 1 file (407 folios). It was created in 7 Sep 1938-1 Jan 1946. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
schemes and unscrupulous schemers, operating underjhe cover of a hypo
critical legality, the Ministry of Finance stood practically helpless.
Obviously, the first and fundamental need is a centralized
agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
for financial control, manned by capable and honest officials, determined
to protect the financial interests of the Government. The present Accounts
and Audits Administration, headed by Mr. Pixley, and his American and
Iranian assistants, is now giving us a starting point for reform. Gradually
improvement is taking place, and I am convinced that it will steadily con
tinue. We shall have a better budget this year and we shall make further
headway in the regularizing of financial operations and in the preventing
of irregularities and waste.
During the last month, the personnel of the Accounts and Audits
Administration is reported to be working efficiently and cheerfully; the work
of preparing the 132:1 budget is actively proceeding; a study of payment
and accounting procedure is under way; certain chief accountants were
transferred; and steps have been taken to install new accounting systems
in the I reasury-General and in certain commercial operations.
Inspections and Prosecutions
When we took up our work, the Ministry of Finance had a group of
inspectors without a head. An Administration of General Inspection was
promptly established and placed under the direction of Mr. Zelli. Recent-
l\. Mr. \yman has been appointed my Special Assistant for investigatory
work. J he Accounts and Audits Administration, through its auditors and
special agents, is making its important contribution to the discovery and
correction of irregularities. For example, during the past month further
shortages have been found in the accounts of the Ministry of Justice. Infor
mal reports indicate that a substantial part of the shortage in the accounts
of the Cereals and Bread Administration has been recovered and deposited
with the competent court. No report has been received from the Ministry
of War relative to the Bis. 1,500,000 advance to a contractor for the pur
chase of rice. 1 hus far, I am informed, the rice has not been received,
nor has the money been returned.
Our success in checking irregularities in the handling of public funds
depends, of course, on the cooperation of the Ministry of Justice. We are
keeping a record of cases presented to that Ministry for prosecution; and
11 intention to include in subsequent reports a statement of
About this item
- Content
Papers reporting on the financial situation in Iran, sent by staff at the British Legation at Tehran (Horace James Seymour; Reader William Bullard) to the Foreign Office, London. The file is a direct chronological continuation of Coll 28/3 ‘Persia. Financial situation’ (IOR/L/PS/12/3394).
The file includes:
- Covering letters enclosing copies of the monthly Bulletin , produced by the Bank Melli Iran (also referred to as the Mellié Iran Bank, and Banque Mellié Iran). The copies of Bulletin are not included in the file (although some front covers do survive), however the covering letters give short summaries of their lead articles.
- Details and estimates for Iran’s annual budgets, with numerous statistical tables.
- Correspondence dated December 1939 to February 1940 relating to irrevocable documentary confirmed credits (irrevocable letters of credit) opened by Bank Melli Iran through banks in India (ff 356-361).
- Copies of laws passed by the Iranian Parliament, including a law relating to war credits and treasury bills (in French, f 334), a Law for the Prevention of Hoarding (ff 325-329) and an Income Tax Law (ff 262-271).
- Correspondence and budget reports dated 1943-1944, produced during the takeover of the administration of Iran’s Finance Ministry by a mission from the United States, led by Arthur Chester Millspaugh.
At the front of the file (ff 4-200) are fourteen monthly reports of the Administrator General of the Finances of Iran (Millspaugh), produced according to the Solar Hijri calender, and dating from Ordibehesht 1322 (equivalent to the Gregorian calendar date of 22 April to 22 May 1943) to Mehr 1323 (23 September to 22 October 1944). The reports, which also contain lists of staff of the Iranian Ministry of Finance and its connected organisations, summarise Iranian finances. Many of the reports contain a map of Iran (for example, folio 185), showing borders, roads and railways, major towns and cities, and districts, which are numbered 1 to 10.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (407 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file. The file’s correspondence begins at folio 202 and ends at folio 407. Printed reports occupy the front portion of the file (with an enclosing note, ff 4-201), and are also arranged in reverse chronological order.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 408; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 28/3(2) ‘Persia. Financial situation.’ [79r] (157/817), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3396, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100037593728.0x00009e> [accessed 28 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/3396
- Title
- Coll 28/3(2) ‘Persia. Financial situation.’
- Pages
- 187r:200v, 176r:186v, 162r:175v, 149r:161v, 138r:148v, 126r:137v, 109r:125v, 84r:108v, 68r:83v
- Author
- Bank Melli Iran
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.