Money (illustration)
Money (illustration)Flash 90

The former head of Iran's central bank has been found in possession of a check worth $70 million (54 million euros) by German authorities, the Bild am Sonntag weekly reported.

Tahmasb Mazaheri, who was in charge of the central bank until 2008, was searched by customs officers at Dusseldorf airport on January 21 after arriving aboard a flight from Turkey, the Sunday paper said, according to AFP.

The check, with a value of 300 million Venezuelan bolivars, was discovered in his hand luggage, according to the report.

The German customs office is investigating whether the check was part of a money-laundering operation.

After the report was published, Mazaheri said that the check was designed to finance the Venezuelan government's construction of 10,000 homes.

No further details are available at this time.