Babak Zanjani 🔝 (@babakzanjani_ch)
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Dotone & Sorinet Group Holding All channels: http://qrco.de/babakzanjani Dotone holding: https://dotone.ir
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Public criticisms
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Oil-money case: 2013 arrest, 2016 death sentence, and 2024 commutation to 20 years
Babak Zanjani, who by his own account sold Iranian oil through a web of companies to get around sanctions under Ahmadinejad, was arrested in December 2013 over billions in withheld oil revenue. Outlets reported a 2016 death sentence, upheld by the Supreme Court. He denied wrongdoing and called himself a debtor. In April 2024, after assets were returned, the sentence was commuted to 20 years.
- Zanjani arrested and taken to Evin prison, as reported - BBC News and Anadolu Agency reported that judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei (@ejei_org) announced the arrest of Babak Zanjani, chairman of Sorinet Group, and IRNA said he was taken to Tehran's Evin prison. The BBC noted parliament had been investigating since September over accusations that he withheld $1.9bn in oil revenue meant to pass through his companies, which he denied. Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani 'arrested'
- Death sentence for 'corruption on earth', as reported - BBC News and The Guardian, citing Reuters, reported that a court of first instance sentenced Zanjani and two co-defendants to death for 'spreading corruption on earth' and ordered them to repay embezzled funds, including to the National Iranian Oil Company. Prosecutors said he still owed the government more than $2.7bn in oil revenue. His lawyer told the BBC the verdict was politically motivated and that he was 'just a debtor'. Iran billionaire Babak Zanjani sentenced to death
- Supreme Court upholds the sentence as critics raise concerns, as reported - Reuters reported that the judiciary said Iran's Supreme Court had upheld Zanjani's death sentence. Reuters said critics of the sentence, including President Hassan Rouhani, had argued that executing him might make it impossible to recover the funds and to identify the officials who supported him. Iran's supreme court upholds tycoon's death sentence for graft
- Death sentence commuted to 20 years after assets returned, as reported - AP and BBC News reported that judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said Zanjani's death sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison, with the Supreme Leader's (@khamenei_fa) approval, after about $2.1bn in assets was returned and he helped locate overseas assets. AP said the 2016 ruling allowed commutation if he returned the assets, paid for damages and expressed regret. Iran commutes a tycoon's death sentence to 20 years in prison
Return to business while on prison leave: the $750m Avan Rail deal and questions about his role
In 2025, after the judiciary first denied he had been released, DotOne holding's Avan Rail signed a roughly $750m memorandum with Iran's railways, and Zanjani hailed it on X as the biggest private rail investment in Iran's history. Outlets questioned the money's source, his role and oversight. The judiciary confirmed he was on prison leave, and the railway later said it had no contract with him.
- Judiciary denies reports of his release, as reported - Iran International reported that after Iranian media and social media users suggested Zanjani had been released and might be launching a crypto bank, the judiciary's office, quoted by ISNA, said his status had not changed, while adding that he had been given the opportunity to take compensatory actions in coordination with relevant authorities. Iran's judiciary denies release of convicted tycoon Babak Zanjani
- Avan Rail signs the railway memorandum and Zanjani posts on X, as reported - BBC Persian and Radio Farda reported that, with Roads Minister Farzaneh Sadegh present, DotOne holding's Avan Rail signed a memorandum worth about 61 trillion tomans for 300 passenger trains, 50 locomotives and 600 wagons. The company's CEO said Zanjani was not present in the holding but that his overseas capital was being moved in. Zanjani wrote on X that this was the year economic power would replace political power. قرارداد ۶۱ هزار میلیارد تومانی آوانریل با راهآهن ایران؛ «بابک زنجانی حضور ندارد اما با سرمایههایش در خارج پشتیبانی میکند»
- IranWire investigation into registration records and wider criticism - IranWire reported that official records showed Zanjani was appointed CEO of an Avan financial and economic development group on March 15, 2025, and that he remained a shareholder or board member in at least 11 active companies. It said political activist Mohammad Mohajeri called the deal a banana peel under the feet of Masoud Pezeshkian's (@drpezeshkian) government. Amwaj.media reported widespread skeptical coverage in Iranian media. After Stealing $3.1B, Iranian Tycoon Wins $800M Railway Deal
- Judiciary spokesman confirms he is on prison leave, as reported - IranWire reported that judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told a press conference that Zanjani, having served 11 years of his 20-year sentence, had become eligible for leave this year under judicial supervision. BBC Persian later reported the official said his business activity under judicial supervision had no legal bar, while the head of the National Iranian Oil Company said his debt file with the oil ministry was still open. Babak Zanjani Granted Prison Leave After 11 Years, Judiciary Confirms
- Railway chief says it has no contract with Zanjani, as reported - Tinn News, citing ILNA, reported that railway CEO and deputy roads minister Jabbarali Zakeri said the railway had signed no contract with Zanjani or a company attributed to him, only a memorandum with Avan Rail's CEO. He said there were problems between Zanjani and the central bank, that the railway had given the group no financing, and that 30 to 40 wagons had been brought in so far. راه آهن هیچ قراردادی با «بابک زنجانی» منعقد نکرده است
2026 US and UK sanctions and a Wall Street Journal report on $850m in Binance transactions
In early 2026 the US and UK sanctioned Zanjani. The US Treasury said he financially backed projects supporting the IRGC and that two crypto exchanges linked to him processed funds tied to IRGC wallets. The UK said he runs a network of companies that generates funds for the IRGC. In May 2026 The Wall Street Journal reported about $850m in Binance transactions by his network, which Binance disputed.
- US Treasury sanctions Zanjani and two linked crypto exchanges - Reuters and a US Treasury release reported that OFAC designated Zanjani for operating in Iran's financial sector. Treasury called him a criminal Iranian investor and said he provided financial backing for major projects supporting the IRGC. It also sanctioned two UK-registered exchanges, Zedcex and Zedxion, which it said processed funds for IRGC-linked wallets. The release quoted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@secscottbessent). Treasury Sanctions Iranian Regime Officials for Violent Repression and Corruption
- UK sanctions Zanjani in a human rights package, as reported - The UK Foreign Office and Reuters reported that Britain, in a package targeting human rights abuses after the protest crackdown, placed Zanjani under an asset freeze, travel ban and director disqualification. The UK statement described him as a businessman who runs a network of companies which generates funds and enables the criminal activities of the IRGC, including its suppression of protesters. UK announces sanctions against perpetrators of human rights violations in Iran
- Wall Street Journal reports Binance transactions by his network - The Wall Street Journal, as relayed by The Times of Israel and Iran International, reported that a network run by Zanjani carried out about $850m in Binance transactions over two years, with an estimated $425m reaching Iran's military, and that the main account stayed open into January 2026 despite internal red flags. Binance disputed the reporting and said it has zero tolerance for illicit activity. Iran Moved Billions Through Binance to Fund Regime - Continuing Into This Month