SADR SEEKING DISCOVERY IN US FOR PILATUS CLAIM AGAINST EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

  In advance of tomorrow's important news, and to provide needed context, and perhaps the grounds for the decision to be reported tomorrow, readers should study this article, and the accompanying documents, which may explain subsequent events.

 We have had an opportunity to review, at length, the Ex Parte Petition of Pilatus Bank PLC for Judicial Assistance in Ais of a Foreign Proceeding,  which is Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad's November 13,2020 effort to collect Discovery he alleges needs to proceed with a claim involving the European Central Bank, currently pending in the EU Court of Justice regarding its banking license, and another contemplated foreign proceeding for damages that Sadr intends to file.

The 229-page filing, which demands discovery from  Lawrence Connell, formerly the Competent Person  appointed by the MFSA to close Pilatus Bank, asserts that, since Sadr's criminal case was dismissed, that he was therefore "exonerated" and the bank's license should be restored. The Petition seeks to obtain what is referred to as Relevant Evidence for use in the two cases, both the pending one and the contemplated one/ 

Sadr asserts

(1)  That he was "the victim of Prosecutorial Misconduct, "  and since the revocation of the bank charter essentially relied upon the criminal case, now dismissed that Pilatus' banking license should be restored, and damages awarded.

 (2) That the Petition meets the statutory requirements for relief; It should be granted.

(3) That the Court has jurisdiction, and venue is proper.

(4) That the petition also meets the Discretionary Factors or relief. Connell is not a party to the foreign proceeding, which is receptive to foreign assistance.

(5) The request is not unduly intrusive or burdensome.

The Petition seeks both documentary and testimonial evidence. The Court has not entered any orders in the case as of today, December 5, 2020. We shall be publishing additional documents in the coming days.

Did this filing cause an official judicial reaction in Malta ? We cannot say, but do not rule it out. More details are available in the copy of the Bank's attorneys' Issues Presented page that appears below.