Member of Parliament: We are unaware of Babak Zanjani's detention location

A member of the Energy Commission of Parliament mentioned that some representatives have requested to meet with Babak Zanjani, the Iranian billionaire, in Evin prison, stating that representatives "do not know where he is being held, just like ordinary people." Hossein Dehdashti, in an interview with the Law newspaper on Sunday, July 14, also reported that the committee following up on Babak Zanjani's case in Parliament has been "dissolved," and only members of the Energy Commission are pursuing this case. Previously, Amir Abbas Soltani, a member of the committee, had stated that several representatives would meet with Babak Zanjani after Ramadan in August. Mr. Dehdashti said on Sunday that the proposal for a meeting with Babak Zanjani was made to ensure that Parliament is "assured" of his detention in Evin prison. He also mentioned on Thursday, July 11, that "some rumors are circulating that he is not in prison." In his Sunday interview, this member of the Energy Commission also pointed out that the Ministry of Intelligence and the Judiciary have no interest in attending parliamentary commissions and providing explanations about this case. He noted the existence of audio files from "numerous" sessions of the Energy Commission with Babak Zanjani, adding, "So far, the Judiciary has not asked us, as informed parties, to assist in the case or even to review the Parliament's information." Amir Abbas Soltani, who announced the possibility of a meeting between Parliament representatives and Babak Zanjani, had been summoned to the Tehran Prosecutor's Office last November due to his statements regarding this case. Before his summons, he had repeatedly accused the Minister of Intelligence, the Minister of Economy, the Central Bank Governor, and the Minister of Oil in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government of being "involved" in Babak Zanjani's case. Babak Zanjani, who is said to have collaborated with the Iranian Ministry of Oil during Ahmadinejad's presidency in selling oil and transferring money into the country after the intensification of international sanctions against Iran, was arrested in January 2014 for failing to pay his debts to the Ministry of Oil. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran's Minister of Oil, also accused Babak Zanjani on August 21 of receiving $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 this money "disappeared."