Foreign Partners of Babak Zanjani Ready to Post Rial Bail

One day after the spokesperson of the judiciary stated that Babak Zanjani's 10 trillion tomans bail had not been submitted, his lawyer announced that foreign partners were 'ready' to post the bail in rials. On Friday, July 4, Rasoul Kouhpayehzadeh stated in an interview with ILNA news agency: 'We are waiting for the temporary detention order to be converted into bail and for the amount to be specified so that we can actually proceed with posting the bail.' He emphasized that the court is 'obliged' to convert the detention order into bail and announce the bail amount. According to Mr. Kouhpayehzadeh, Mr. Zanjani's foreign partners have 'expressed readiness' to post the bail 'in rials.' He had previously stated that in the last days of June, his client's partners abroad had officially announced in a letter that they were willing to post the required amount 'through some currency exchange offices' to the judiciary's fund if the bail order was issued. These recent statements from Babak Zanjani's lawyer come at a time when he had mentioned in mid-April that the 'trustees' of Mr. Zanjani's assets abroad were unwilling to return his assets after learning of the death penalty ruling. The Iranian Minister of Oil has announced that Babak Zanjani's debt to the government is about 10 trillion tomans, and the prosecutor's indictment has accused Mr. Zanjani of having paid '160 million euros' of the 2.7 billion euros he was supposed to pay to the oil company, using the rest for personal matters. Meanwhile, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, stated on July 3 that Babak Zanjani 'has not yet been able' to provide a 'suitable' bail, which is valued at 'at least' 10 trillion tomans. According to Mr. Ejei, this bail will be 'expertised' after being submitted to the judiciary, and necessary decisions will be made thereafter. Babak Zanjani, who reportedly assisted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government in circumventing Western banking sanctions, was arrested on December 30, 2013, following a complaint from the Iranian Ministry of Oil. Mr. Zanjani and two other defendants in the oil case have been recognized by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court as 'corrupt on earth' and sentenced to execution, restitution of property, and fines, with their case sent to the Supreme Court. The most important charges against Babak Zanjani include corruption on earth, disruption of the country's economic system, extensive fraud against the National Iranian Oil Company, fraud against the 'FIIB' bank, forgery of banking documents and currency transfers, forgery of interbank transfer orders, money laundering amounting to 1.967 billion euros, and spreading falsehoods. In this context, the Tehran prosecutor stated that 2 trillion tomans were transferred in Zanjani's case. The case of Babak Zanjani and two other defendants is on the path of appeal. Following a request for reconsideration, Zanjani's case was sent to the Supreme Court. The Iranian Minister of Justice stated that Zanjani's execution will not yield money, and Zanjani's lawyer mentioned that his client's associates will not return assets after the death sentence.