Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 26
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran’s Supreme Court has overturned death sentence of Iranian billionaire businessman Babak Zanjani, Mehr news agency reported Nov. 26 citing an informed source.
Zanjani was sentenced to death last April for corruption, but he appealed the ruling.
Meanwhile, Gholamreza Ansari, an official with the Supreme Court of Iran, told ISNA that he has no recent information regarding the issue.
In December 2013, Iranian judiciary officials accused Zanjani of massive fraud at the Oil Ministry and money laundering. He has been kept in custody and attended court hearings since then.
After sanctions were imposed against the National Iranian Oil Company, Iran had to partially export its oil through Zanjani's channels. Meanwhile, the ministry said Zanjani still owes more than two billion euros for the oil exports he handled on behalf of the former government.
One of Iran's richest men, Zanjani was blacklisted by the US and EU for helping Iran evade oil sanctions.