August 25, 2004 - Intelligence minister Ali Yunessi denied that there was widespread corruption in the government, and added that rumors linking government organs and semi-governmental entities in smuggling goods into the country were untrue. His comments came a day after police chief Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf said put the value of goods smuggled into Iran at $5.5 billion. Qalibaf said one of his jobs was to dispel the rumors that government was involved in the smuggling.
