OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS RAN MALTA'S PILATUS BANK LIKE A MONEY LAUNDERING OFFSHORE TAX HAVEN BANK

Former Pilatus Bank Chief Operating Officer and Director Luis Felipe Rivera

Anyone who questions whether the officers and directors of Pilatus Bank should be indicted for money laundering is invited to review the 1501-page Egrant Magisterial Inquiry. A large portion of the Inquiry is in English, and the number of acts detailed that are specifically in furtherance of money laundering operations is just too numerous to mention.

Here are just a few of the most egregious acts that Pilatus bank officers and staff engaged in:

(1) Keeping literally two sets of books of account, and failing to disclose the existence of the second set when Maltese regulators audited the records. This is the essence of not only criminal conduct, but dishonesty, on the part of bankers who are fiduciaries, at the highest level.

(2) Reportedly maintaining an "underground" (and unlicensed) shadow banking facility for clients in Turkey. The officer in charge of the back-office "wealth management" operation in Turkey is known to have been LINET ESTIROTI. Given Turkey's long history of facilitating Iranian oil sanctions evasion, having any financial facility, legal or not, in Turkey, is extremely dangerous.

(3) Reliable sources have stated that Pilatus did not actually book all of its clients ib the bank's records. These are upper-tier clients located abroad, whose assets are held under the names of nominees at the bank. Media in Malta dubbed it a "Hidden Filing System."

If you retained anything from your law classes at the university, it is that "Directors must direct." We note that some of the directors actually resided in Malta. They are held strictly liable for allowing criminal conduct, on a massive scale, to occur. Also, what on earth are American financial professionals doing affiliated with a bank owned by Iranian interests, and with an Iranian as the most senior executive, given the US sanctions currently in effect ?  Do they not appreciate their exposure to criminal charges ?

Pilatus Bank headquarters in Malta

As we have previously stated, where are the US indictments for money laundering and corruption, against the Pilatus Bank officers and directors ? Let us hope that the sealed filings, Post-verdict, in the Ali Sadr case, indicate that he is cooperating with US law enforcement against the other Pilatus laundrymen.