Babak Zanjani Accused of Corruption and Billion-Euro Money Laundering

The first court session for Babak Zanjani concluded on Saturday, October 2, with the reading of 65 pages from a 237-page indictment and nine charges against him. Among these are 'corruption on earth and disruption of the country's economic system,' 'widespread fraud from the oil company,' and 'money laundering amounting to 1.967 billion euros and dissemination of falsehoods.' According to reports from the first court session, eight instances of 'forgery of remittances' from foreign banks, as well as 'forgery of remittances at the Central Bank, forgery of bank documents, and forgery of seals' are other charges against Babak Zanjani. The Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran, while reading the indictment, dismissed Zanjani's claims during the investigation that he has '15 billion euros' abroad as 'false.' Earlier, Rasoul Koohpayehzadeh, the young lawyer defending Babak Zanjani, stated in an interview that his client had provided the 'address and location' of his money abroad, but those involved in his case did not 'follow up.' Previously, Amir Abbas Soltani, a member of the Energy Commission of Parliament, had mentioned Zanjani's previous statements in the commission, claiming he had 'saved 25 billion euros' in 'Japanese banks' and if he intended to pay his debts to the Ministry of Oil, he would have done so by now. The Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran also announced that Babak Zanjani had 'contacted the outside world and his sister through Evin prison employees.' He referred to Zanjani's messages to his sister, stating that he requested a 'change' in the 'prints' of one of his companies and that he had not ceased forgery during the investigations. The Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran noted that Babak Zanjani owns '11 oil companies,' the most significant of which is a company in Iraq, where he holds 49% of the shares. According to this indictment, a woman named 'M. M.' appears repeatedly in the documents of 'many companies, with a salary of 4,000 euros per month.' The Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran also mentioned Zanjani's purchase of banks in Tajikistan, Malaysia, and the UAE, stating that he had 'established' a bank in Malaysia but was 'actually operating from the Tehran office of this bank.' According to this indictment, during the 'preliminary investigations,' Zanjani claimed that his email account at his bank was 'created by the Ministry of Intelligence.' The Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran stated that from the exchanged SWIFT messages between his bank and Iranian banks, 'only one message for the purchase of a crane was legitimate, and the rest were forged.' The indictment also mentioned the establishment of Bank 'K' in 2009, which has a license to operate in Tajikistan. A day before the court session of Babak Zanjani, Amir Abbas Soltani, a member of Parliament, mentioned a bank named 'Bank Arzesh,' an airline, bus and taxi companies, and an aluminum factory as Babak Zanjani's assets in Tajikistan. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran's Minister of Oil, also accused Babak Zanjani of receiving 2.7 billion dollars in collaboration with several ministers and the head of the Central Bank in the previous government, which was deposited into his 'fake bank account' in Malaysia, and ultimately this money 'disappeared.' In the court session of Babak Zanjani, the second and third defendants in this case were also present, referred to by Iranian news agencies as 'M. Sh' as the second defendant and 'H. F. H' as the third defendant. According to the reading of the indictment, 'M. Sh,' the third defendant, is accused of 'corruption on earth through participation in defrauding the National Iranian Oil Company and the Oil Pension Fund and participating in money laundering through the proceeds of the Niko Company.' Meanwhile, 'H. F. H' is accused of 'participating in defrauding social security for an amount exceeding 444 billion Japanese yen.' Previously, the Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, and some members of Parliament had accused Saeed Mortazavi, the former head of the Social Security Organization, of issuing an order to transfer 138 companies of this organization to Babak Zanjani and giving him five 'guaranteed' checks amounting to 442 billion Japanese yen, equivalent to four million euros. However, Mr. Mortazavi has denied this accusation. According to Fars News Agency, Hossein Dehdashti, a representative from Abadan in Parliament, was present at Babak Zanjani's court session. According to this report, two of Babak Zanjani's sisters were also present at his trial. Amir Abbas Soltani and Hossein Dehdashti, two members of the committee following up on Babak Zanjani in Parliament, had previously requested to attend Babak Zanjani's court session in a letter to Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of Iran's Judiciary. The second session of Babak Zanjani's trial will be held on Sunday.