Severe Criticism from Judiciary Chief of Government's Performance in Babak Zanjani Case

Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, severely criticized Hassan Rouhani's statements and the government's actions in the Babak Zanjani case, stating that "Babak Zanjani provided financial assistance to Hassan Rouhani's campaign in the 2013 presidential election," and that individuals "related" to this matter will be summoned and may be arrested if necessary. The judiciary chief also accused Rouhani's government of placing "very technical security equipment" in the presidency "without the knowledge of security forces." According to Fars News Agency, Ayatollah Larijani emphasized that the judiciary's first action in the Babak Zanjani case was to prevent his escape from Iran, implicitly accusing oil ministry officials of not providing sufficient documentation to the judiciary at the start of the investigation. He dismissed criticisms about not revealing the "behind the scenes" of this case and the judiciary's accountability as "incorrect," stating that the judiciary's initial effort was to recover Zanjani's debt to the government. The judiciary chief noted that they have preserved the dignity of some individuals in this case and have taken measures to protect the reputation of certain people. He added, "Babak Zanjani has claimed that he donated billions of tomans to the presidential election; we do not consider his statements to be entirely true, and he makes many claims; otherwise, if we wanted to investigate, we would have summoned all those involved." He stated, "We did not want to open up the margins beyond the text... Now you say to pursue the behind-the-scenes; we have no objection; we will summon everyone he mentioned in this regard and if necessary, we will arrest them to clarify the matter." Prior to Ayatollah Larijani's remarks, some principlists, including Hamid Rasai, a representative from the ninth parliament, had made this accusation. Rasai had accused Rouhani's campaign in 2014 of receiving five billion tomans from Babak Zanjani during the presidential election campaign, and Hussein Fereydoun was also summoned for "explanations" regarding this matter. In response, Hussein Fereydoun, the president's special assistant, announced on February 17, 2015, that he had officially sued Rasai for "spreading falsehoods." Following this, Akbar Turkan, a member of Rouhani's campaign, expressed readiness to present documents from the campaign to clarify what expenses were incurred during the last election. Regarding the non-transfer of the Babak Zanjani case to the Ministry of Intelligence, the head of the judiciary criticized claims about the judiciary's lack of cooperation with the Ministry of Intelligence in the Babak Zanjani case as "incorrect." According to Larijani, Rouhani had requested last year that this case be pursued by the Ministry of Intelligence, and he had instructed the Tehran prosecutor to implement this suggestion, but "it was later revealed that there were obstacles to this, and these obstacles were not from the judiciary." He added, "I cannot reveal what these obstacles were now; there are obstacles and problems within the ministries and security forces that will be explained in due course." Hassan Rouhani stated on December 28 that he had requested the judiciary to hand over the Babak Zanjani case to the Ministry of Intelligence, but this request was not implemented. He also mentioned that people's questions about this case remain unanswered. The pursuit of Babak Zanjani's assets abroad "does not concern the judiciary." In response to Rouhani's statements, the judiciary chief said that the government must be accountable for identifying Zanjani's assets outside Iran, "but the situation has reversed, and the roles of the plaintiff and defendant have been switched." According to Larijani, the judiciary's pursuit of tracing Babak Zanjani's money in Malaysia, Tajikistan, and Turkey should be conducted by the Central Bank and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and "does not concern the judiciary." The judiciary chief added, "Apparently, the gentlemen have confined diplomacy to the issue of the JCPOA, which has resulted in this situation." Previously, officials from the Ministry of Oil and the prosecutor's office announced that efforts to recover Babak Zanjani's assets abroad had yielded no results. In the indictment, Zanjani is accused of having paid only 160 million euros of the 2.7 billion euros he was obligated to pay to the oil company, spending the remainder on personal matters. The transfer of "very technical security equipment" to the presidency was also addressed by the judiciary chief in response to calls for clarity on the Babak Zanjani case, stating, "We are actually seeking transparency... We are also looking to find out where the money has been spent. Where is the money of the presidency being spent?" He added, "Very technical security equipment was brought into the presidency without the knowledge of security forces; whose permission was it? How was it done? Where did the money come from?" Larijani emphasized, "We accept the same statements in the judiciary, and whatever happens here should also be made clear elsewhere. However, let’s not make promotional statements." In his remarks on Tuesday, the judiciary chief also said, "Unfortunately, it has become common to kick anyone who passes by the judiciary, and instead of appreciating all the services of the judiciary, they make promotional statements." The judiciary chief's welcome for transparency regarding this body comes at a time when, according to Mahmoud Sadqi, a representative from Tehran, his warning about the judiciary chief's "personal" accounts was one of the main reasons for the formation of a case and the efforts of agents to arrest him. Allegations made by the judiciary against Rouhani's government are also stated while Amir Abbas Soltani, a member of the committee following the Babak Zanjani case in the ninth parliament, had previously accused the Minister of Intelligence, Minister of Economy, head of the Central Bank, and Minister of Oil of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government of being involved in the Babak Zanjani case. Soltani was summoned to the prosecutor's office after these remarks. Meanwhile, the judiciary chief stated on Tuesday, "Individuals related to this case, from former ministers to the former head of the Central Bank, have repeatedly been summoned to the judiciary and have been interrogated for hours, and this case remains open, and no one has said that these ministers or others have been acquitted or have been exempted from prosecution." Mahmoud Bahmani, the former head of the Central Bank, who was summoned in the Babak Zanjani case, was approved for candidacy in the tenth parliament and was elected as a representative from Savojbolagh. Rostam Qasemi, the oil minister of the tenth government, has also been introduced by the Yekta Front, composed of some ministers from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, as a candidate for the presidential election.