Baku, Azerbaijan Feb. 13
By Khalid Kazimov – Trend:
Judiciary spokesman, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, has denied reports on plans to execute Iranian businessman billionaire Babak Zanjani over the coming five weeks.
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei has said that Zanjani will not be executed over the current Iranian calendar year (ending March 21), Fars news agency reported.
He further added that the country’s intelligence ministry is still probing into the issue. Babak Zanjani was arrested in December 2013 after accusations that he withheld billions of oil revenues, channeled through his companies. Zanjani at the time denied the accusations.
Iranian judiciary has previously announced that the 42 year-old businessman was sentenced to death, pronouncing him guilty of fraud and economic crimes.
During the former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s term, Zanjani reportedly played a key role in helping the country to bypass Western-imposed sanctions against Iran restricting the country’s oil exports.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has criticized the death penalty saying the execution of the billionaire will mask the identity of senior officials who supported him.
Iran: no plans to hang tycoon Zanjani in coming weeks
Judiciary spokesman, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, has denied reports on plans to execute Iranian businessman billionaire Babak Zanjani over the coming five weeks.
