Pursuits

Iranian Billionaire Can Avoid Death Penalty by Repaying Cash

  • Minister says Babak Zanjani must cooperate to escape sentence
  • Zanjani convicted of embezzling $2.7 billion during oil deals

Babak Zanjani, in blue, in a Tehran court in November 2015.

Photographer: Hemat Khahi/EPA
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The death sentence of Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani can be commuted if he cooperates by returning the money he was convicted of embezzling, Justice Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi said.

“Whenever we see the money back in our bank account, we will say that he has cooperated,” Pour Mohammadi said, according to a report Tuesday by the Iranian Students News Agency. “So far, we haven’t seen him cooperate.”

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Iranian Billionaire Can Avoid Death Penalty by Repaying Cash