What is "setad"

Setad (short for , Setade Ejraiye Farmane Emam, lit. "The Executive Headquarters of Imam's Directive") known as The Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order aka EIKO (formerly "ستاد پیگیری فرمان هشت‌ماده‌ای امام" Setade Peygiriye Farmane Hasht-Maddeiye Emam or "Headquarters for Pursuing Imam's Eight-Article Directive"), is a multi-sector Iranian business organization in the Islamic Republic of Iran, with holdings of 37 companies, and an estimated value in 2013 of $95 billion (made up of about $52 billion in real estate and $43 billion in corporate holdings). It is under the control of the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and created from thousands of properties confiscated from Iranians.

Setad was supposedly created to help the poor and war veterans and was meant to exist for just two years. Almost a quarter-century on, Setad has morphed into a business juggernaut with real estate, corporate stakes and other assets. Under Khamenei, the organization has expanded its corporate holdings, buying stakes in dozens of Iranian companies, both private and public. The organization has been described as "secretive" and "little known".

It is not overseen by the Iranian Parliament, as that body voted in 2008 to "prohibit itself from monitoring organizations that the supreme leader controls, except with his permission". It is, however, an important factor in Khameni's power, giving him financial independence from parliament and the national budget, and thus "insulating him from Iran's messy factional infighting". According to an investigative report by Reuters news agency, the "revenue stream" provided by Setad, "helps explain why Khamenei has not only held for 24 years but also in some ways has more control than even his revered predecessor". Khamenei, judges and parliament over the years have issued a series of bureaucratic edicts, constitutional interpretations and judicial decisions bolstering Setad.

The Reuters report said, there was no evidence that Khamenei was tapping Setad to enrich himself. However the Reuters report noted that it's difficult to pinpoint the organization's total worth because of the secrecy of its accounts. Iranian authorities have stated the findings of the Reuters investigation lack "any basis", are "far from realities" and "not correct," but given no further details. In 2009, British banks froze $1.6 billion in funds belonging to Ali Khamenei's son. According to leaked reports in 2011, Ali Khamenei had $36 billion in bank accounts abroad, and his son Mojtaba had $21 billion in bank accounts abroad. Various other Khamenei family members also was revealed to have hundreds of millions of dollars stashed away in a bewildering array of foreign banks and financial institutions. Finally in 2015, Khamenei claimed he had a personal net worth of only $150 million.