Zanjani's Letter to Parliament Representatives; The IRGC's Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters Also Involved

Babak Zanjani, in a letter to parliament representatives previously written but partially published on Friday, defended his actions before imprisonment in response to the Minister of Oil, stating that he had lent over 200 million euros to the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters and is still owed 30 million euros. According to a report on Friday, October 24, by Young Journalists Club, affiliated with the Islamic Republic Broadcasting, he also claimed that from 2009 to 2011, by installing a 'system' in several Iranian banks, he transferred 2.5 billion euros abroad and received 1200 tomans for each euro, but ultimately invested all this amount within the country. Amir Abbas Soltani, a member of the committee following Zanjani's case in the Iranian parliament, stated that this letter was written on July 4 of this year but 'was never referred to the representatives.' He emphasized: 'A copy of this letter is in the possession of the honorable prosecutor of Tehran, Mr. Dr. Jafari Dolatabadi, and we obtained this letter from another source.' Soltani provided only five pages of this letter to Young Journalists Club but refrained from publishing other sections due to 'certain considerations.' In this letter, Zanjani claimed that from 2009 to 2011, he installed a 'system' for several Iranian banks and sent 300 remittances daily, totaling 36,000 foreign remittances. He also stated that with this system, he transferred 2.5 million euros and received 1200 tomans for each euro, all of which he invested in the country. His letter, which has a disjointed and vague style, did not refer to the details and workings of this 'banking' system. Reports indicate that Babak Zanjani played a role in circumventing Western sanctions against Iran and transferring money from Iran abroad during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. In his letter, Zanjani wrote that he gave 5 billion euros to the Housing Bank to provide 4 billion euros in exchange for purchasing companies from the Social Security Organization. He also claimed to have given 3.5 billion euros to the 'Development Financial Institute' and received an 8 trillion toman guarantee to give to the 'Municipality' for purchasing its subsidiaries. ILNA news agency previously reported that the Housing Bank, in January 2013, informed Saeed Mortazavi, the former head of the Social Security Organization, that due to U.S. and European sanctions, there was no possibility of international transfer of Zanjani's foreign remittances for purchasing the organization's companies. Es'hagh Jahangiri, the first vice president of Iran, also accused Zanjani on Saturday, September 19, of having 'hypothetically and on paper' paid 4.2 billion euros for purchasing Social Security companies. In his letter, Zanjani also claims to have purchased an offshore drilling rig and lent over 200 million euros to the 'Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters of the IRGC' and is still owed 30 million euros. Hamid Hosseini, the treasurer of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, stated on August 10, 2014, that with the delivery of two offshore drilling rigs belonging to Babak Zanjani to Petropars at a price of 600 to 700 million euros, this amount was deducted from his debts. However, the next day, Roknoddin Javadi, the deputy oil minister, stated that Zanjani had made a 50 million dollar down payment for purchasing a drilling rig, which was bought by Petro Iran as part of his assets. In the continuation of his letter, Zanjani wrote: 'I invested in the Sadr Bridge with this system and imported its parts, and after two years, instead of my money, they gave me density and forced me to construct the Iran-Zamin project.' The construction of the Iran-Zamin project, owned by Babak Zanjani in the West Town, has had many controversies. For instance, on October 3, 2013, part of the project and surrounding streets collapsed, forcing some homeowners nearby to evacuate their residences. The Ana news agency, affiliated with Azad University, reported in 2014 that Babak Zanjani received permission to construct the Iran-Zamin project in West Town in exchange for importing equipment for the Sadr Bridge worth 40 million dollars. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, previously announced that the price of the land for this project was determined by judicial experts at 1700 billion tomans during Babak Zanjani's detention. In another section of this letter, Zanjani wrote: 'The honorable Minister Mr. Zanganeh... could have met me once and... the same agreement that I am making in detention could have been made in freedom and without noise, but in my opinion, an experienced minister who seeks margins is not looking to solve the issue.' Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran's Minister of Oil, has repeatedly accused Babak Zanjani of having received 2.7 billion dollars in collaboration with several ministers and the former central bank governor, depositing it into his 'fake bank account' in Malaysia, which ultimately 'disappeared.'