Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani was sentenced to death for stealing money from a national oil company. The Iranian government said that Zanjani was “corrupting Earth” for his actions. Zanjani was not alone in this deal, as he had 2 other men that were helping him with the plot. The Iranian government says that under Islamic Sharia Law, “corruption on earth” is punishable by death because of the ability it has to impact society.

Babak himself is worth 14 billion dollars and managing director of the UAE-based Sorinet Group, which is one of Iran’s biggest businesses. He also owned Qeshm Airlines, a continental flight service, and Rah Ahan Sorinet F.C., which is a soccer club. Little is known of the two men who helped Zanjani.

Before Zanjani’s arrest  in 2013, he argued that international sanctions were preventing him from paying back the $1.2 billion he owed the government. But prosecutors allege he actually owed the government $2.7 billion in oil revenues. This Iranian courts agreed, and viewed Zanjani’s actions as corruption.

Zanjani sold millions of barrels of oil from Iran to various countries. However, when Hassan Rouhani became president in 2013, Zanjani was accused of impropriety as a result of Rouhani’s announcement that he would crack down corruption upon taking office.

Wayne Hills student Andres Sullivan says “It’s common for business men to do something sneaky like steal money, staying in debt and promising to pay it back, so if Zanjani thinks he should be let go, he is wrong.” Many people would probably say the same thing about Zanjani.

Zanjani was sentenced to death on march 6th 2016 and there will be further notice on when the execution will be. Of course, Zanjani himself believes that he is innocent, but for now, all of his money will go towards paying back the debts, while any extra will go to the Iranian government.