The Conclusion of the Fourteenth Court Session for Babak Zanjani Accompanied by the Judge's Warning

With the conclusion of the fourteenth session of the trial of Babak Zanjani, an Iranian businessman accused of economic disruption and fraud, his defense has also ended. Zanjani was tried in the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Salavati, who warned him at the end of his defense to pay his debt to the Ministry of Oil before the court's verdict is issued. This case also involves two secondary defendants. The Tehran Prosecutor's Office has accused Zanjani, who assisted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government in circumventing Iran's banking sanctions, of corruption, disruption of the country's economic system, extensive fraud against the National Iranian Oil Company, fraud against the FIB Bank, forgery of banking documents and currency transfers, forgery of interbank transfer orders, money laundering amounting to 1.967 billion euros, and spreading falsehoods. The National Iranian Oil Company and Bank Maskan have filed complaints against Zanjani, claiming he deceived them by establishing fake companies and banks in Malaysia and Dubai and running fraudulent banking systems that pretended to be secure international systems like SWIFT and IBAN. One of the oil company's lawyers summarized the matter in the final court session on December 2, stating that 'our contractors had liquidity issues in dollars and euros. Zanjani deceived our officials, claiming he had a bank and could pay your contractors' claims in euros and dollars, but he did not.' Judge Salavati also warned Zanjani in his final summary to pay his debt to the Ministry of Oil before the court's ruling. Throughout all court sessions, Zanjani has insisted that he has paid a significant portion of his debt to the National Iranian Oil Company by transferring his assets. He also complained that court experts undervalued some of his properties, including the Iran-Zamin property. The court did not accept these claims. Zanjani also stated that he does not owe Bank Maskan but has given 67 million euros in cash to this bank, which has never been returned to him. Regarding the oil company's complaint, Zanjani's lawyer, Rasoul Koohpayehzadeh, explained in a previous court session that the claims from this company included two parts: one was the money the oil company provided to Zanjani through the Central Bank, and the other was the money from the sale of oil shipments. Zanjani's lawyer then stated that the National Iranian Oil Company had deposited 1.427 billion and 500 thousand euros into Zanjani's account, which was the first part of his debt and was settled during the trial by transferring his assets to the oil company. However, the Iranian Ministry of Oil has denied receiving such a claim and settling Zanjani's debt. Throughout the court sessions, Zanjani threatened the oil company with damages, claiming they had harmed him and that he would seek damages through his foreign lawyers. In the thirteenth court session held on Sunday, the oil company's lawyer stated that Zanjani, who is himself a defendant, has demanded 10 billion euros in damages from the oil company, and his foreign lawyer in Malaysia sent an email stating that if the damages are not paid, he will sue them. Regarding the money laundering charge and the establishment of fake companies, Zanjani repeatedly referred to the sanctions against Iran's banking network and the impossibility of depositing money into Iranian bank accounts during his trial. The prosecutor's office has accused Zanjani of not clarifying the source of the money he intended to pay to the plaintiffs, stating that he established a company in Dubai without the Central Bank's permission, and his bank in Malaysia was also invalid and fake. In defending himself against the money laundering charge, Zanjani stated in various court sessions, including on Sunday, 'At that time, the country was under sanctions, and if a permit was needed, the Central Bank would not have handed me the money in sacks to deliver to the national and export banks in Dubai. If this had not been done, how would meat, chicken, and grains needed by the country have been purchased?' Zanjani added, 'We were practically conducting money laundering in the international system, and in a way, the Central Bank confirmed this with a resolution issued for the Malaysian bank, as three ministers at the time and the then Central Bank governor signed a resolution allowing oil resources to be deposited into the Malaysian bank account for payment to contractors.' He also responded to Judge Salavati's question about how currency transfers were conducted, saying, 'Banks received yuan, Korean won, euros, and Turkish lira from the Central Bank and wanted to transfer this money to various places, but since their funds were not transferable, they signed a contract with us under the title of IBAN for me to conduct the transfers for them, and under this contract, I received money from over 800 European banks and even a bank in Washington.'