Babak Zanjani (, born 12 March 1974)
is an Iranian billionaire and
business magnate
A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
. He was the managing director of the
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...
-based Sorinet Group, one of Iran's largest business conglomerates. In late 2013, he was arrested and accused of withholding $2.7 billion of government money owned by the
Ministry of Petroleum, while facilitating Iran's oil revenue, which was hindered by the
sanctions against Iran
There have been a number of international sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, follo ...
.
Zanjani was convicted of corruption and sentenced to death. In 2021, while awaiting execution, the
Supreme Court of Iran
The Supreme Court of Iran () is the highest juridical authority in Iran, established to supervise the correct implementation of laws by courts of justice and consisting of the most prominent judges of the country. The head of the judiciary assig ...
indicated that the sentence would be
commuted when his debts to the Iranian government were paid, and stayed his sentence, pending return of the embezzled funds. After the return of around $2.1 billion in assets, his sentence was commuted to 20 years of imprisonment on 30 April 2024.
Several commentators have stated that Zanjani is perhaps a "
fall guy
Fall guy is a colloquial phrase that refers to a person to whom blame is deliberately and falsely attributed in order to deflect blame from another party.
Origin
The origin of the term "fall guy" is unknown and contentious. Many sources place ...
" for corruption scandals in Iran.
Sorinet Group
Sorinet Group () is an Iranian business
conglomerate. The company is one of Iran's largest business conglomerates. Sorinet businesses include cosmetics, finance and banking, hospitality, commercial aviation, infrastructure, building material, information technology and international real estate development. It operated in Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey,
Tajikistan
Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
, Malaysia, and China. He also owned
Qeshm Air
Qeshm Air (, ''Hevapeimayi-ye Qeshm'') is an Iranian airline; it has its headquarters in Tehran, Iran and operates scheduled domestic and international passenger services as well as charter flights. The airline was founded in 1993 as Faraz Qes ...
and
Rah Ahan Sorinet F.C. in Iran.
In 2013, Zanjani stated that his net worth was $13.5 billion.
EU sanctions against Iran
Zanjani was named in the
restrictive measures against Iran in December 2012 by the
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...
on the grounds that he "is assisting designated entities to violate the provisions of the EU regulation on Iran and is providing financial support to the government of Iran".
Zanjani was claimed to be "a key facilitator for Iranian oil deals and transferring oil-related money". He denied the accusation, declining any ties with the Iranian government and calling the Europeans' decision "a mistake".
The
EU sanctions against Iran
There have been a number of international sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, follo ...
describe Zanjani as "a key facilitator for Iranian oil deals" and transferring oil-related money and accused the Malaysia-based First Islamic Bank of being used to channel Iranian oil-related payments.
Zanjani said the complex nature of his companies' large sums of transactions might have misled EU authorities. Zanjani's companies were involved in the
Labuan
Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan (), is an island federal territory of Malaysia. It includes and six smaller islands off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capital is Victoria, which is best kno ...
—Iran oil smuggling route on the eastern coast of
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. Labuan had been serving as a drop-off spot for Iranian crude.
Alleged dual nationality
In January 2013, an Iranian news website,
Baztab, reported that Zanjani holds a
Danish passport
A Danish passport () is an identity document issued to citizens of the Kingdom of Denmark
The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories ...
in addition to his
Iranian one, a claim which Zanjani later denied. He called the passport's copy "fake", saying in an interview with the news website of
Rahahan F.C., his football team: "This story
he copy of my passportis too badly fabricated that they even put my picture on the passport without a tie. However, it is obligatory to tie a necktie to take pictures for European passports," which is untrue.
Arrest, initial conviction, and release
On 30 December 2013, Zanjani was arrested by Iranian police for his alleged role in the "gold for gas" sale of Iranian oil that avoided international sanctions in schemes
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and Malaysia. He was accused of embezzling more than €2.7 billion, involving, among others, the
National Bank of Tajikistan
The National Bank of Tajikistan () is the central bank of Tajikistan.
The Bank is engaged in developing policies to promote financial inclusion and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. Deposits in the National Bank of Tajikistan ...
. Some days later, a spokesman from the National Bank of Tajikistan denied any cooperation between Zanjani and the bank and claimed all documents presented by Zanjani about their two-way communications were fake. He was tried in an
Islamic Revolutionary Court
Islamic Revolutionary Court (), also known as the Revolutionary Tribunal (''Dadgahha-e Enqelab''Bakhash, Shaul, ''Reign of the Ayatollahs'', Basic Books, 1984, p.59-61) is a special system of courts in the Islamic Republic of Iran designed to try ...
. On 6 March 2016, he was convicted and sentenced to death for embezzlement and "
spreading corruption on earth".
In December 2016, the
Supreme Court of Iran
The Supreme Court of Iran () is the highest juridical authority in Iran, established to supervise the correct implementation of laws by courts of justice and consisting of the most prominent judges of the country. The head of the judiciary assig ...
confirmed the sentence.
However, his sentence has been stayed pending his return of the embezzled money, after which he may receive a pardon. Iran's Supreme Court indicated that his sentence would be commuted when his debts to the Iranian government were paid. On 30 April 2024, Zanjani's sentence was commuted to 20 years' imprisonment after returning around $2.1 billion in assets from illegally selling oil.
Shortly after, reports emerged of his conditional release.
As of January 2025, photos of the newly-freed Zanjani were seen circulating in Iranian media.
Return to business activities
Following his early release from prison, Zanjani reemerged in the corporate sector through a newly established holding company named Avan, registered on November 17, 2024, with a declared capital of 30 billion tomans (£375,000). Within five months, Avan expanded into ten subsidiaries across transportation, trade, and technology sectors, most notably Avan Rail. In April 2025, Avan Rail signed what was described as the largest private sector investment in the history of Iranian railways—a 61 trillion toman ($800 million) contract with
Islamic Republic of Iran Railways
The Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (abbreviated as IRIR, or sometimes as RAI, or as IRI Railway) () is the national state-owned railway system of Iran. The Raja Passenger Train Company is an associate of the IR, and manages its passenger t ...
to procure 300 diesel self-propelled passenger locomotives, 50 freight locomotives, and 600 tank freight wagons.
The deal quickly drew scrutiny due to the company’s limited capital and the opaque nature of its financing, which representatives attributed to an unnamed foreign investor. Despite official denials of Zanjani’s involvement, contradictory statements and corporate registration records indicated he held executive roles within the group. Reports from ''IranWire'' revealed that Zanjani retained stakes in at least 11 companies in Iran, suggesting a broad and active business portfolio. His resurgence sparked criticism across the political spectrum, including from conservative figures, who viewed the railway deal as a potential liability for President
Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration.
See also
*
Reza Zarrab
Reza Zarrab (, ; born 12 September 1983) is an Iranian-born businessman based in Turkey. He has Iranian, Azerbaijani, Turkish and Macedonian citizenship.
In March 2016, he was arrested in the United States, accused of being a member of an inter ...
*
Alireza Zibahalat Monfared Ali Reza (also spelled Alireza or Ali-Reza) is a given name popular among Iranians, Bengalis, Turks and Albanians referring to the imams of Shia Islam Ali and Ali al-Ridha.
People Ali Reza
* Ali Reza (actor) (born 1985), Indian model and actor
* ...
*
Money laundering in Iran
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zanjani, Babak
1974 births
21st-century Iranian businesspeople
Iranian billionaires
Iranian football chairmen and investors
Iranian white-collar criminals
Iranian prisoners sentenced to death
Living people
Businesspeople from Tehran
Iranian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates
Prisoners sentenced to death by Iran
People convicted of corruption