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Assets of controversial Iranian billionaire not enough to pay off his oil debts

Business Materials 29 September 2014 14:13 (UTC +04:00)

Tehran, Iran, Sept. 29

By Milad Fashtami - Trend:

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that the assets of controversial billionaire Babak Zanjani are not enough to pay his oil debts to the oil ministry, Iran's Moj News Agency reported on September 29.

"His assets are worth only a small percentage of his debts," Zanganeh said. He didn't reveal the exact percentage.

"The oil ministry and the judiciary are working together on the case," he explained.

Iran's Mehr News Agency reported on July 18 that the country's oil ministry plans to seize 30 trillion rials (some $967.7 million based on the exchange rate of USD at the free market) of the assets of controversial billionaire Babak Zanjani.

The governor of Central Bank of Iran Valiollah Seyf said on July 18 that the judiciary is trying to find more assets in order to confiscate them.

Zanjani who is the owner or shareholder of at least 70 companies and banks, including Bank Arzesh in Tajikistan and First Islamic Bank, had been involved in Iran's oil sales and transferring the sold oil's money to the country to bypass the imposed western sanctions on the country. Reportedly, he owes €2.06 billion to Iran's Oil Ministry.

However, the Central Bank of Iran said on Dec. 28 that Zanjani has not paid any sold oil's money to the bank.

Zanganeh said on March 12 that Zanjani owes 1.1 million rials (about $45) to every Iranian, IRNA reported on March 12.

In September 2013, Zanganeh said that Zanjani claims the Americans blocked his bank account so he is not able to transfer the money to the Iranian government.

Zanjani had said that the money was in the bank account of a Hong Kong-based company which is a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company, adding that, "transferring the money to Iran is not my concern".

In an interview with the ISNA News Agency in August 2013, Zanjani said that he has helped transfer 17.5 billion euros of the Iranian banks' capital from outside the country to domestic bank accounts with a 0.007 percent interest.

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