Babak Zanjani, an infamous Iranian billionaire, has triggered the country’s media again with a new Bitcoin-backed “bank,” local media reported this week.

A video on an X account allegedly linked to the shadowy billionaire once dubbed an “economic Basij” during the Ahmadinejad administration shows a Zanjani account promoting a cryptocurrency exchange named "Bit Bank."

A post accompanying the video reads in Persian, “Soon… BitBank will reinvent financial dealings.” According to reports by Fars News Agency, the video has led some users and media outlets to speculate that Zanjani is behind the move despite officially still being in jail for corruption.

Zanjani was estimated to be worth at least $13.5bn before his arrest, allegedly amassed from under-the-table oil deals on behalf of Iran’s nationalised oil companies during the height of sanctions. Despite being officially stripped of his assets, he is believed to still have hidden billions of dollars in accounts in countries across the world, as well as large holdings of crypto.

The social media post coincides with the Central Bank of Iran's directive to suspend rial payment gateways for cryptocurrency exchanges, suggesting that authorities are now using Zanjani again for their purposes of sanctions busting.

Earlier rumours of Zanjani's potential release caused a stir. His lawyer hinted at his release through a social media post, but the judiciary spokesperson swiftly refuted these claims, clarifying that Zanjani had neither been released nor was on temporary leave.

The spokesperson dismissed reports of his release as inaccurate and unverified.

This latest development has ignited interest and speculation within Iran’s financial and legal communities, as Zanjani remains a divisive figure due to his past activities and ongoing legal troubles.

Babak Zanjani,  the former CEO of the Sorinet Group, was once recognised as the head of one of Iran’s largest conglomerates, which included several different companies, including an airline called Qeshm Air.

He gained notoriety during Ahmadinejad’s tenure for his extensive financial dealings on behalf of the state, which were tied to circumventing international sanctions and allegations of economic corruption.

Zanjani was arrested on December 30, 2013, following a complaint from the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and sentenced to death in 2016. Zanjani was convicted in a televised trial of 'Corruption on Earth', the most severe offence in the Sharia-based system, and embezzling $2.9bn of the oil ministry's money. 

The court also ordered the restitution of assets and imposed fines for money laundering. The death sentence was issued due to widespread corruption linked to Zanjani’s financial activities.

The businessman is also the subject of blacklisting by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for breaching UN sanctions on Iran, and some of his foreign assets have been seized.

In May 2024, Iran’s judiciary spokesperson announced that Zanjani’s death sentence had been overturned and commuted to a 20-year prison term with the approval of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The reduction in Zanjani’s sentence followed the recovery of a significant portion of his misappropriated assets and his cooperation during his imprisonment.

Zanjani was initially arrested in 2013 for his alleged role in a high-level corruption scandal in Turkey, where he was accused of embezzling $2.9bn with the help of Turkish-Iranian Reza Zarrab.

Zanjani was said to be Zarrab’s partner in Iran in Iran to facilitate the payments. 

The Iranian and tri-national Zarrab were accused of smuggling bars of gold over the border in commissioned trucks as payment from Turkish oil companies during the halt on official payments under sanctions.

The then-Turkish interior minister Muammer Guler, economy minister Zafer Caglayan and EU affairs minister Egemen Bagis had been accused of taking bribes from the men. They all resigned following the leaks.