LABOUR-CONTROLLED MEDIA SPEWS DISINFORMATION ON PILATUS BANK, BLAMES THE UNITED STATES FOR INACTION

The Puppeteer, Laughing All the Way to the Bank by COSIMO

Maltese mainstream media, with a long history of favoring the corrupt Labour Party and its disgraced leader, ex-PM Joseph Muscat, apparently is trying to place blame for inaction in the Pilatus Bank money laundering case all upon the United States. Reports published in Malta state that, notwithstanding a statement by Police Commissioner Gafa, that warrants should soon be issued, they were actually issued back in January, and sent to the United States, for there arrest and extradition of Pilatus owner, Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad, and Chief of Operations Luis Rivera, the individuals have not been found and are not in custody.

As you may recall, Repubblika, in its court action against PC Gafa did NOT state that arrest warrants were issued; indeed, exactly the opposite.

Who is telling the truth here, Malta's Police, or Joseph Muscat-controlled media ? The object, of course, is to confuse the people of Malta, who are understandingly angry over the Labour government's inability to arrest and try the officers and directors of Pilatus, after a very expensive investigation and magisterial report recommended action.

Pilatus Bank Directors  by COSIMO

The story in media becomes even more unbelievable, when you realize that one of the major players named in the report, which recommended action against her, was the acting MLRO, Antoniella Gauci, who lives in Malta. Why hasn't Gauci been arrested ?

The article also leads the reader to believe that Pilatus Officer Claude Ann Sant Fournier is innocent of money laundering, due to certain "administrative mistakes" she made. Prosecutors have made no such assertions, and the information is clearly intended to serve as the grounds for ultimately dropping the charges pending against her, most likely due to the fact that she comes from an influential family. This is blatant manipulation of media. 

To add to the confusion, the article falsely claims that the US Government withheld evidence that could have been exculpatory. in truth and in fact, the FBI delivered massive amounts of evidence to the US Attorney's Office, some of which was never forwarded to the defence. That's not the same as intentionally withholding evidence.

Finally, blaming the United States, after a number of well-placed anti-American postings by Labour trolls, couched as anti-colonialism, would seen to fit in with a well-orchestrated campaign to misdirect public fury towards America, and therefore to excuse the lack of justice. It's was if the article was written by someone in Russian Intelligence at the Embassy.

Well done, Muscat.You remember your early PL tactics as a propagandist quite well.