Judge Salavati: Zanjani's Foreign Lawyers Willing to Pay His Debt to the Ministry of Oil

The judge in Babak Zanjani's trial announced during the third court session that Zanjani's foreign lawyers have stated their willingness to pay his debt to the Iranian Ministry of Oil by "providing an unconditional guarantee draft." According to ISNA news agency, Abolqasem Salavati emphasized that based on this, the legal affairs manager of the Iranian Oil Company announced that with the cooperation of the defendant's lawyers, the public treasury debt will be returned. The judge's statements come as the legal affairs manager of the National Iranian Oil Company wrote in a letter to Salavati that Zanjani and his "affiliates" have repeatedly made "false and misleading claims for propaganda purposes and to waste time and prolong the proceedings," but in reality, they have not deposited any funds, whether in rials or foreign currency, into the company's account. According to IRNA news agency, Ali Akbar Maherkhzad wrote in this letter that "provided that the guarantee and the issuing bank are confirmed and the debt is collectible," Zanjani's company is ready to cooperate and take necessary actions. Previously, Hamid Hosseini, the treasurer of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, stated on August 9, 2014, that an Iranian abroad has agreed to pay all of Zanjani's debts to the government. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the judiciary, mentioned on June 30 of the same year that "some individuals have made proposals, but the results are still unclear." However, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Iran's Minister of Justice, denied on August 14, 2014, that any requests had been made by individuals to pay Zanjani's debts to the government. Zanjani was accused in his third court session of having received "one million barrels of oil worth 300 million euros" from the Iranian Oil Company and having paid only "160 million euros" of the 2.7 billion euros he was obligated to pay, spending the remainder on personal matters. Mr. Najafi, the prosecutor's representative, also dismissed Zanjani's claim that his debt was unpaid due to sanctions on the "F.A.I.B" bank as "baseless." According to Najafi, Zanjani had been evasive about proving his ownership of the "F.A.I.B" bank during the investigations, but ultimately had to acknowledge his ownership. The prosecutor's representative also read a letter from Zanjani to "M-Sh," another defendant in the case, stating that "M-Sh" had sold the oil delivered from the Iranian Oil Company, but only 402 million dollars of that was delivered to Zanjani. Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Iran's Minister of Oil, had previously accused Zanjani of receiving 2.7 billion dollars in collaboration with several ministers and the central bank governor during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, depositing it into his "fake bank account" in Malaysia, which ultimately led to the money "vanishing." Meanwhile, Amir Abbas Soltani, a member of parliament, announced on Friday, October 2, that the value of Zanjani's contracts with the Ministry of Oil exceeded four billion dollars, accusing the previous government of having provided him with "12 oil and gas condensate tankers without necessary guarantees." He also referenced previous statements by Zanjani in the Energy Commission of the parliament, accusing Rostam Qasemi, the oil minister in Ahmadinejad's government, along with five other cabinet members, of having "endorsed" him and granted him permission to sign the "oil" contract. However, according to the prosecutor's representative, although the ministers of oil, economy, and industry, mining, and trade, as well as the former central bank governor's resolution from July 7, 2012, is referred to as a resolution of the special committee of the president, it was not approved in that committee and was only ratified by three ministers and the former central bank governor, which should be verified by the "Economic Corruption Combat Headquarters." According to IRNA news agency, Najafi also mentioned that Zanjani had previously purchased two million barrels of oil from the pension fund on March 22, 2012, and during a meeting with the CEO of NICO, one of the oil-selling companies in Iran, he claimed to have "multiple shipments abroad." The special economic measures committee was established by government officials with the approval of the Supreme National Security Council and the endorsement of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the "sanction period" to make "special" decisions, and all its resolutions are "completely classified." After the conclusion of Zanjani's third court session, his lawyer, Rasoul Kouhpayehzadeh, announced that after the judge agreed to the request for time to study the case, the next court session will be held on November 1.