From Wrongfully Imprisoned to Elon Musk's CFO: The Story of an Iranian American
While the rumors of Elon Musk's meeting with Iran's UN Ambassador are still not substantiated, Musk's appointment of an Iranian American, Mahmoud Reza Banki , as CFO of X (formerly Twitter) is real news. Banki comes from Tubi, a video streaming platform that was acquired by FOX for $440 million in 2020. But Banki's life story is not that of a typical corporate executive.
After migrating to America from Iran, Banki graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and subsequently earned a PhD in chemical engineering with a focus on biotechnology from Princeton University. He has published numerous scientific articles and a biotechnology book.[9][10] After completing his PhD, he worked as a management consultant at the New York City office of McKinsey & Company.
In January 2010 during Obama's Presidency, Banki was arrested and prosecuted by the United States Attorney's office in New York City (see related historic news aggregator stories on Kodoom). He was charged with violating US sanctions against Iran. Banki, who is said to be the nephew of an Iranian minister and grandson of Ayatollah Taleghani, spent 22 months in prison before winning his case on appeal in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, with all charges against him related to the sanctions being dismissed. After his release Banki earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles, and worked at NBCUniversal.
In January 2021, five years after Banki applied, and almost 10 years after his release from prison, and following letters of support for Banki by 13 members of congress, President Trump granted Banki a full and unconditional presidential pardon. Banki shares his personal story and his mission to raise awareness and to improve the US criminal justice system on his website.
Since 2008, Kodoom has been committed to tracking stories of justice and Iranian Americans (see below tags). Kodoom's news aggregator has also tracked news of Mr. Banki's arrest in real time.
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