Babak Zanjani's Case Has Reached '200,000 Pages' in the Revolutionary Court

The lawyer of Babak Zanjani, the imprisoned businessman, announced on Tuesday, July 15, that his client's case has been referred to Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, with Judge Salavati presiding. According to Fars and Tasnim news agencies, Rasoul Koohpayehzadeh Isfahani, Zanjani's lawyer, stated: 'The study of the 200,000-page case of Babak Zanjani, which has been sent to the court after a long time, will begin tomorrow (Wednesday) in Branch 15 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran under Judge Salavati.' Zanjani's lawyer mentioned that no date has yet been set for the case because the volume of the case is 'heavy and consists of 200 volumes,' and it will likely take several months to study it. Babak Zanjani's name became prominent during the impeachment of the Minister of Labor and during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's revelations against the brother of the head of the legislative and judicial branches in 2012 in the parliament. Ahmadinejad showed a video in the parliament, stating that Fazel Larijani had asked Saeed Mortazavi, the then-head of the Social Security Organization, to facilitate Zanjani's acquaintance. However, with the end of Ahmadinejad's presidency, Zanjani, who collaborated with Iran's Ministry of Oil during Ahmadinejad's government in selling oil and transferring the money to the country after the intensification of international sanctions against Iran, was arrested in January 2014 on charges of failing to pay his debts to the Ministry of Oil. Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Iran's Minister of Oil, also accused Zanjani in August of last year of having received $2.7 billion in collaboration with several ministers and the central bank governor in the previous government, which was deposited into his 'fake bank account' in Malaysia and ultimately 'disappeared.' The news of the referral of Babak Zanjani's case to Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court comes at a time when several members of parliament have recently called for clarification on Zanjani's place of detention. Hossein Dehdashti, a member of the Energy Commission of the parliament, referred to the request of some representatives to meet with Zanjani in Evin prison, stating that representatives 'do not know where he is being held, just like ordinary people.' In an interview with the Law newspaper on Sunday, July 14, this parliament member also reported that the committee following up on Zanjani's case in parliament has been 'dissolved,' and only members of the Energy Commission are pursuing this case. He also mentioned that the Ministry of Intelligence and the judiciary have no interest in attending parliamentary committees and providing explanations about this case.