Babak Zanjani in Court: I Have Obtained a Seizure Order for the Assets of the Housing Bank

Babak Zanjani, the imprisoned businessman, stated on Tuesday, November 9, during his sixth court session that he has obtained a seizure order for the assets of a state-owned oil company and the Housing Bank, saying, "If you want to bother me, I will also bother you." According to Fars News Agency, he mentioned, "I have brought two surprises for the Ministry of Oil and the Housing Bank today to perhaps encourage them to cooperate with me." Zanjani asserted, "I want to get things done," adding, "If I say I might be stronger, I mean that someone who works with thousands of billions of tomans thinks as if they have thousands of billions. If it comes to a fight, you definitely cannot win against me." The oil billionaire continued, "They say Babak Zanjani is making a forward escape; I am standing in my place, and you cannot reach me." Regarding the Housing Bank, Zanjani reiterated that he had suggested multiple times that they reject their money, and in response, they claimed to have a strong answer for Zanjani. He stated, "I also obtained a seizure order for their assets, and certainly, something wrong will happen to them if they do not cooperate. I mean, if you want to bother me, I will also bother you." In his fifth court session, Zanjani had claimed that he flew to Kish to assist the managers of the Housing Bank and sold 67 million euros to Bank Mellat, which he had placed at the disposal of the Housing Bank, which has not returned his money to date. He had warned the Housing Bank, "Do not doubt that I will get my money back by any means, and if I cannot reach Iran, I will retrieve my money wherever it is in the world." Zanjani also mentioned a 10 billion seizure order for the assets of a company affiliated with the National Iranian Oil Company, stating, "Every word I say is interpreted as Zanjani wants to avoid paying us. I had to file a lawsuit against the HK company on behalf of 'First Islamic Bank' and demanded 10 billion in damages, and I was able to obtain a seizure order for its assets, and I can seize its assets wherever they are right now." He added, "This is my stick; as soon as you refuse to cooperate with me, I will collect the 10 billion." The HK company, affiliated with the National Iranian Oil Company, is said to expedite the transfer of funds related to oil exports on behalf of the Iranian government, but it is on the list of sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program. Gholamhossein Sadeghi Ghahareh, the lawyer for the National Iranian Oil Company, previously stated that Zanjani "denies the obvious in his defense, claiming he has not received any oil, while the oil company delivered oil to Niko, and Niko delivered it to the HK company, and HK delivered it to the Iso company owned by Babak Zanjani, yet he denies the obvious by claiming he has not received any oil." Now, in his sixth court session, Zanjani stated regarding this company, "The HK company has a problem that you gentlemen are not aware of. This company has been sanctioned by the European Union for money laundering against its managers because large sums of money have entered their accounts without any imports or exports being conducted. Therefore, since the documentation has been conclusive, a conviction has been issued against the managers of this company, and they are going to Interpol for the arrest of these individuals, which has nothing to do with me." Regarding the issue of providing an account number for paying oil debts, the Iranian Ministry of Oil states that Babak Zanjani has not paid 2.7 billion dollars from the sale of Iranian oil while circumventing sanctions, and Bijan Zanganeh has repeatedly stated that Zanjani's assets "do not cover his debts." Zanjani had previously claimed in his court sessions that the National Iranian Oil Company had not provided him with an account to pay his debts. The legal affairs manager of the National Iranian Oil Company dismissed Zanjani's and his lawyer's claims about the sanctions on the company's accounts as "pretexts" and stated that this company is ready to accept Zanjani's payments even to accounts that are under sanctions and "will be blocked." On Tuesday, Zanjani stated in this regard, "The Deputy Minister of Oil in Parliament says if Zanjani wanted to pay, even if we did not provide an account number, he could get an account number from the judiciary. Where was the judiciary's foreign account in Europe?" This oil defendant continued his remarks by saying, "Guarantee works have been somewhat completed, and it is necessary for the Ministry of Oil to cooperate with us to resolve the issue without creating side issues, rather than writing things in newspapers that only have credibility for themselves." He added, "If they want to engage in political actions, I will step aside and say, okay, I am guilty, and you have the power and strength." He continued, "I say do not bully. Your oil money has been deposited into an account you had; now your account is sanctioned, I am not to blame."