Issuance of Indictment for Three Defendants in Babak Zanjani Case

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy and spokesperson of the Iranian judiciary, announced the issuance of an indictment for three defendants in the Babak Zanjani case, which consists of "more than two thousand pages," stating that no indictment has yet been issued for these defendants. According to Mr. Mohseni Ejei, over "50 individuals" have been investigated as witnesses and defendants in this case. In a press conference on Tuesday, January 5, he said, "Based on the latest news from the case investigator, an indictment has been issued for three of the defendants, and no indictment has been issued in this regard yet." He added that if the prosecutor approves, the indictment will be issued, noting that "six individuals are detained in this case, and the others have been released." Mr. Mohseni Ejei emphasized that if the prosecutor accepts and issues the indictment, the trial may take place by the end of the year. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, had reported on Tuesday, December 8, that the Babak Zanjani case had been prepared by the investigator with "more than a thousand pages" and would soon go to court. The judiciary spokesperson continued by stating that Babak Zanjani's assets do not "suffice" to cover all debts, adding, "Part of the money is still unclear whether it exists in domestic or foreign banks or has been converted into property or non-property." He further stated, "The defendant does not have complete honesty in cooperating to identify his assets and the amount of his money, and he accepts whatever amount we can trace based on investigations to identify the money and assets." Iranian government and judiciary officials have repeatedly reported the uncertainty surrounding Babak Zanjani's assets. For instance, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the Minister of Justice, reported on Thursday, August 28, the unknown fate of more than "two-thirds of Babak Zanjani's debt" to the government, stating that Mr. Zanjani's debt is approximately 8,600 billion tomans, of which less than one-third is within the country. Turkey, Tajikistan, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates are countries where, according to some Iranian parliament representatives, Babak Zanjani's assets have been transferred. In this context, Hamid Hosseini, the treasurer of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, stated on September 15 that Dubai owes Babak Zanjani nearly 400 million dollars. Mr. Hosseini also reported on August 18 of this year the publication of a tender for the sale of the Onur Airlines company owned by Babak Zanjani in Turkish newspapers and requested that the judiciary and aviation organization prevent Babak Zanjani's assets from being "plundered" abroad. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the Iranian Minister of Oil, also accused Babak Zanjani on August 11 of receiving 2.7 billion dollars in collaboration with several ministers and the head of the central bank in the previous government and depositing it into his "fake bank account" in Malaysia, which ultimately resulted in this money being "lost." Regarding the unrelated seizure of a newspaper and the arrest of its journalist, the first deputy of the judiciary stated on Tuesday that "these two issues are not related, and the accusation against that journalist is separate from the reason for the newspaper's seizure." Following the seizure of the Rozan newspaper, journalist Yaghma Fakhshami was arrested and sent to Evin prison on Wednesday, December 24. The Rozan newspaper, in its issue on Saturday, December 20, published articles commemorating the late Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, including a photo of him on the front page with the headline "A Different Jurist."