On January 21, German authorities at Dusseldorf Airport discovered a check for 300 million bolivars (about $70 million) in the luggage of Tahmasb Mazaheri, Iran's former central bank chief from 2007 to 2008, as he arrived from Turkey.

The discovery of a $70 million check in the hands of a senior Iranian official again highlights the secretive nature of ties between Iran and Venezuela and the ongoing need for scrutiny of the relationship between the two countries.