Death sentence for Iranian sheepskin trader-turned billionaire tycoon upheld

A death penalty against an Iranian businessman on charges of corruption was upheld on Saturday by the country's supreme court in a move that critics say will shadow the identity of state officials who supported him.

Prosecutors say that Babak Zanjani owes the Iranian government more than $2.7 billion, money allegedly pilfered while working on behalf of the country's oil ministry.

Zanjani has admitted circumventing sanctions by arranging oil deals totalling billions of dollars using a network of companies based in Turkey, Malaysia, the UAE, and elsewhere.

His team, however, deny allegations of corruption and have previously said that if Zanjani is released and permitted access to his business networks he will return the money. 

One such company, Sorinet Group, based in the UAE, had a portfolio including companies in the cosmetics, banking, and real estate sectors.

Zanjani, is said to have amassed a personal fortune of some $10 billion and enjoyed travelling in private jets and elite sports cars.

He became a key figure in selling Iranian oil overseas before sanctions against the country nuclear program were enforced, having previously traded sheepskins in the 1980s - no mean feat in a country where extraordinary wealth outside the state apparatus is uncommon.

Critics of the sentence - which include Iranian President Hassan Rouhani - have said that executing Zanjani may make it impossible to recover the lost billions, and reveal the identities of officials who may have supported him.

Iran is regularly criticised for its continued practise of capital punishment, with reports that over 250 people were hung in the country in the first six months of 2016.