Iranian Billionaire's Comeback: From Death Sentence to Crypto Empire

Babak Zanjani is an Iranian billionaire and businessman who has managed to escape punishment for his involvement in massive oil deals with Iran's government.

He was put on trial in 2013 for allegedly embezzling over $2 billion of state-owned oil revenue, but he claimed that the money was stuck in foreign bank accounts due to Western sanctions. Zanjani was sentenced to death in 2016, but the sentence was commuted to a 20-year prison term by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in 2024.

Zanjani has now returned to business with his new company, Dot One, which has signed an $800 million deal with Iran's state-owned railway company. He has also established a cryptocurrency exchange called Zedcex and has invested in a gold-backed digital token called Tala Token.