Jamshid Ansari, Vice President of Iran for Administrative and Recruitment Affairs, made the revelation in an interview with the state-run Iran daily on Sunday.

Refraining from declaring salaries is a known way used by Iranian officials to conceal the astronomical figures they receive. Meanwhile, many of them try to shift the blame on officials from the rivaling faction to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

In response to criticism, the Iranian government said that astronomical wages are not limited to the government.

According to published documents, Vali Azarvash and Ali Mohammad Alikhanzade, the CEO and vice president of the board of directors at Atie Saba Investment Company, a subsidiary of the Welfare Organization, respectively received 540 and 440 million rials as payment last month.

The Welfare Organization however didn’t deny this report.