Tehran, Oct 11, IRNA – An informed source has recently disclosed new aspects of the case of the Iranian oil billionaire Babak Zanjani who is standing trial for charges of corruption and money laundering.

Prosecution in the criminal proceeding on financial corruption in Iran’s crude oil revenues opened in Tehran on October 3 with Zanjani as its main defendant along with two others who appeared in Tehran Islamic Revolutionary court.

Zanjani, 41, was arrested on December 30, 2013 on charges of corruption. He is one of Iran's wealthiest businessmen, with a fortune worth an estimated $14 billion.

According to the indictment against him, the billionaire is faced with charges including “corruption on earth,” massive fraud at the Oil Ministry and money laundering.

The Oil Ministry says Zanjani still owes more than two billion euros for the oil exports he handled on behalf of the former government after the US and the EU imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil industry in 2012 over its peaceful nuclear activities.

The new aspects of Zanjani’s case as revealed by the informed source follow:

Onur Air, a company conducting its business in the aviation business, has been sold to Babek Zanjani in 2013.

Zaniani had appointed Mehdi Shams as the 100% shareholder of the Company.

According to the Turkish aviation regulations Turkish citizens should hold the majority of the total shares of an airline company; hence Mehdi Shams had transferred 51% of the total shares of the company to a Turkish citizen named Kudret Tuncel as a Trustee.

Due to the investigations regarding Zanjani's debt to our Government, all these above given information had been revealed and Kudret Tuncel, the possessor of the shareholders, had acknowledged his possession on the shares before the legislative bodies. In order to save the money of real shareholder, negotiations have been carried out with these people.

Unfortunately, the previous shareholder of Onur Air, Hamit Cankut Babana, during this negotiation process, started to make pressure on Kudret Tuncel alleging that the company is in debt to him. In return of the so called debt amount of the company to him In May 2015, Babana seized the company by taking back 51% of its shares of Kudret Tuncel gratuitously.

Babana moreover, in order to decrease the shares of Mehdi Shams, decided to increase capital. It is announced that the representatives of the shareholders not standing by to these developments and accordingly hereby declared that they initiated legal actions in Turkey against management of Onur Air and Ten Tour who is the majority shareholder of Onur Air, via an international law firm, has been alleged the invalidity of the increase of capital and the Invalidity of the 51% share transfer gratuitously from Tuncel to Babana.

In addition, it is requested in junctive relief over the shares, thus it has been aimed to prevent the sales of any of the company shares. In order to protect the rights of the shareholders and our people, we hereby announce that we will not stand by to Zanjani's debts and the actions of these bad faith people.

By IRNA