Iranian Billionaire Charged with Corruption Gets Death Sentence


Iranian Billionaire Charged with Corruption Gets Death Sentence

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian corporate mogul Babak Zanjani, who has been in custody for over 15 months on corruption charges, was sentenced to death by a court in Tehran, Iranian Judiciary’s Deputy Chief and Spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei announced on Sunday.

Speaking in his weekly press conference here in Tehran, Ejei said Zanjani and two of his accomplices were given the death penalty, but the sentence is not final and can be appealed.

“The Court of the First Instance has ruled that the three defendants are Corruptors on Earth (based on Islamic Sharia) and sentenced them to death,” he added.

The defendants must return the plaintiff’s properties (the National Iranian Oil Company) and also pay one-fourth of the money they laundered as penalty, Ejei added.

Zanjani was arrested on December 30, 2013 after 12 Iranian lawmakers accused him of corruption, calling for an inquiry into his financial activities in a letter to the heads of the three branches of the Iranian government.

According to the indictment against him, the billionaire was faced with charges including corruption on earth, massive fraud at Iran’s Oil Ministry, and money laundering.

Experts say the estimated net worth of his assets is around $13.8 billion. The business tycoon, aged 42, owned and operated many holdings and companies, including the UAE-based Sorinet group, Qeshm Airlines and Rah Ahan Soccer Club in Iran.

Iran’s Oil Ministry says Zanjani still owes more than two billion euros for the oil exports he handled on behalf of the former government after the US and the EU imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil industry in 2012 over the country’s nuclear activities.

Ejei had previously said the billionaire refrained from cooperating with judiciary officials.

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