Statements from 'an informed source' regarding the 'cancellation of Babak Zanjani's sentence' denied

While the Mehr News Agency reported, citing 'an informed source' in the Supreme Court, that Babak Zanjani's death sentence had been canceled, the deputy of this court denied the news, and Mr. Zanjani's lawyer stated that the ruling would be issued by the end of the week. On Saturday morning, December 6, Mehr News Agency announced, based on an informed source, that Babak Zanjani's death sentence had been canceled in the Supreme Court. However, shortly after, the Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the judiciary, quoted Gholamreza Ansari, the Deputy for Supervision and Inspection of the Supreme Court, stating that the ruling in this case had not yet been issued. Mr. Ansari also told ISNA that, 'As of last week when I inquired about this matter, the case had not reached the ruling stage, but friends say it has reached that point; I do not have new information. I need to investigate the matter and then I can say exactly whether the ruling in this case has been issued or not.' Rasul Kouhpayehzadeh, Babak Zanjani's lawyer, also stated in an interview with ISNA that he was told on Saturday morning at the Supreme Court that 'a ruling has not yet been issued and it must go through administrative processes.' He added, 'The Supreme Court announced that the ruling for my client’s case will be issued and announced in the coming days, and it is likely to be issued by the end of this week.' Zanjani's lawyer also said that until the ruling is communicated, he cannot comment on the news of the cancellation of his client's death sentence 'either affirmatively or negatively.' Babak Zanjani, who reportedly helped the government of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad circumvent banking sanctions, was arrested in December 2013 following a complaint from the Iranian Ministry of Oil, and after months of case review, he was sentenced to death along with Hamid Fallah Heravi and Mehdi Shams. Zanjani was accused of charges such as 'corruption on earth' and disrupting the country's economic system, large-scale fraud against the National Iranian Oil Company, or money laundering amounting to 1.967 billion euros. In the indictment of this case, Mr. Zanjani was accused of receiving 'one million barrels of oil worth 300 million euros' from the Iranian oil company and having paid '160 million euros' out of the 2.7 billion euros he was obligated to pay, spending the rest on personal matters. During the trial, he repeatedly stated that he would pay the debt to the National Iranian Oil Company, but according to Ministry of Oil officials, this debt has not yet been paid, and Mr. Zanjani's confiscated assets are not sufficient to cover this debt. In this context, Rasul Kouhpayehzadeh, Babak Zanjani's lawyer, stated on November 23 that 'a 100% state-owned foreign bank' had expressed readiness in a letter to the Central Bank of Iran to pay this amount if his detention order was converted to bail. In response to these remarks, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, stated that Zanjani's lawyer had made this claim two months ago, and a delegation from the oil company and Mr. Zanjani's lawyer went to this bank, but 'no one was willing to provide a guarantee.' Previously, President Hassan Rouhani, the Minister of Oil, the Minister of Justice, and several members of parliament announced that executing Babak Zanjani would not help recover the money he owes to the Ministry of Oil. In this regard, Bijan Zangeneh, the Minister of Oil, stated on July 7 that with the execution of Babak Zanjani, the 'black box' of his case would also be 'lost.' Hossein Dehdashti, head of the parliamentary committee following Babak Zanjani's case in the ninth parliament, also emphasized in mid-March of last year that with the execution of Mr. Zanjani, 'influential individuals' and 'the hands behind the scenes' in this case would be 'forgotten.' In May of this year, the Iranian Minister of Justice also stated in a television program that executing Babak Zanjani would not help recover the assets he has, and in this matter, 'there are more important priorities.'