The Iranian judiciary said Sunday that the authorities have arrested 67 people in a drive against financial crime, as special courts were being set up to try suspects quickly upon the orders of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. "Sixty seven suspects have been arrested, some of whom were released on bail, and more than 100 people including government employees and officials, as well as private employees and others have been given travel bans," judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said in remarks carried by state television. Earlier this month, the head of the central bank was sacked and his deputy in charge of foreign exchange arrested. "Our enemy America has decided to put pressure on people and it intends to put our economy under pressure, but to no avail," Ejeie said. "There are individuals who try to use this opportunity and hoard basic goods and increase pressure on people by hoarding and smuggling," Agence France Presse quoted him as saying. The rial currency has lost about half of its value since April over worries about the US sanctions, with heavy demand for dollars among ordinary Iranians trying to protect their savings. The cost of living has also soared, sparking sporadic demonstrations against profiteering and corruption, with many protesters chanting anti-government slogans. Khamenei on Saturday called for “swift and just” legal action from new courts, state television reported. “The current special economic conditions are considered an economic war,” judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani said in a letter to Khamenei, calling for the setting up of special courts to deal quickly with financial crimes. Khamenei agreed, saying: “The purpose (of the courts) should be to punish those guilty of corrupt economic practices swiftly and justly." “The courts should be advised to (ensure) the accuracy of their rulings.” The courts will be set up for two years and directed to impose maximum sentences on those “disrupting and corrupting the economy”, and appeal rights will be curbed, Amoli Larijani proposed in his letter, according to Reuters.