Ali Larijani: If Babak Zanjani Had Cooperated, He Wouldn't Have Ended Up This Way

Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, stated that if Babak Zanjani, a billionaire close to former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had cooperated with the government to return the assets, he would not have received the death sentence and 'would not have ended up this way.' In an interview with reporters on December 7, Larijani referred to officials who claim that all aspects of Zanjani's case are not clear, saying, 'I find it unlikely that the dimensions of the case are not largely clear.' The death sentence for Babak Zanjani, a billionaire and oil broker for Ahmadinejad's government, was confirmed by the Supreme Court on December 4. The issuance of the death sentence comes despite previous statements from officials in Hassan Rouhani's administration, including Bijan Zangeneh, who said that executing this individual would eliminate the 'black box' of the case and close the path to recovering the funds. Larijani seemingly reacted to these positions by stating, 'The dimensions of this issue are largely clear; the question remains whether this money can be returned in this way or not! If he had cooperated, he wouldn't have ended up this way; he should have cooperated, but he didn't, and this is what happened.' The Speaker added, 'The system cannot remain idle. Various opportunities were given for him to return the funds. He made some statements, but ultimately could not manage the task. I saw yesterday that he was given more opportunities to amend and reductions were offered.' On Sunday, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, stated that if Babak Zanjani returns the funds, his death sentence might be revoked under 'Article 114 of the Islamic Penal Code.' Babak Zanjani was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to death after 26 court sessions for 'corruption on earth.' According to the oil minister of Hassan Rouhani's government, Zanjani owes more than 2.5 billion euros to the Ministry of Oil and the Central Bank. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the First Vice President stated that it must be clarified which individuals and officials brought Babak Zanjani into the system and entrusted public assets to him, calling for the judiciary to investigate this matter. According to Amir Abbas Soltani, a representative from the ninth term and a member of the committee that followed up on Zanjani's case, he had received written approval from the oil minister, the then Minister of Economy and Finance, the Minister of Industry and Mines, the Strategic Deputy of the Presidency, and the Central Bank Governor during Ahmadinejad's administration, despite having open cases related to fraud.