The First Session of Babak Zanjani's Court Begins

The first session to address the charges against Babak Zanjani, a imprisoned businessman, began publicly on Saturday, October 2, presided over by Judge Salavati at the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Fars News Agency reported that Mr. Zanjani entered the Revolutionary Court under 'heavy security measures and more than ten escort vehicles.' According to Khabar Online, 20 domestic and foreign journalists are expected to attend the court session. Rasul Kouhpayehzadeh, Babak Zanjani's defense attorney, stated a day before the court session: 'Although I have been busy studying the case, I have not yet finished reviewing it. This case consists of 209 volumes, which, in addition to its volume, has specific complexities, and I have only managed to study a maximum of one-third of it during this time.' According to the Central News Unit, Mr. Zanjani's defense attorney mentioned that 'so far, only he has declared representation in this case,' adding: 'Although it has been reported in publications that he has six lawyers, I am currently the only lawyer in this case, and legally, no more than three people can declare representation in one case.' Babak Zanjani owned dozens of economic and financial companies and institutions inside and outside Iran, which helped the Islamic Republic circumvent international sanctions during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. Following the end of Ahmadinejad's presidency, Babak Zanjani was arrested in January 2014 for failing to pay his debts to the Ministry of Oil. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran's Minister of Oil, previously accused Babak Zanjani of receiving $2.7 billion in collaboration with several ministers and the head of the Central Bank in the previous government, which was deposited into his 'fake bank account' in Malaysia, and ultimately this money has 'disappeared.' Meanwhile, it has been reported that Babak Zanjani wrote in a letter to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, in August that he 'never' dealt with the Ministry of Oil. In his letter, Babak Zanjani stated: 'A foreign oil company sold oil and received the money in an account I introduced, and due to that, the money is blocked, and now that the government has changed, they are forcing me to pay the money again because I am the owner of the bank and its shareholder.' Since his arrest, Babak Zanjani has been accused of various instances of rent-seeking and financial corruption. In this context, Eshaq Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, commented on Babak Zanjani, stating: 'This gentleman at one point proposed to the Social Security Organization that in exchange for purchasing companies of this organization, he would pay 4.2 billion euros, and according to an agreement made in this regard, he would pay this amount hypothetically and on paper.' According to Eshaq Jahangiri, Mr. Zanjani at this stage received a guarantee check equivalent to 17 trillion tomans from the Social Security Organization, chaired by Saeed Mortazavi, which he continues to refuse to repay to this organization with 'arrogance.' Reports indicate that Babak Zanjani has repeatedly claimed during this time that he is 'innocent' and has only 'helped the system' as an 'economic Basij.'