WAS PILATUS BANK CAPITALIZED WITH CRIMINAL PROCEEDS FROM VENEZUELA?

Pilatus Bank officers & directors

Although there are criminal proceedings pending against the defunct PILATUS BANK and its former money laundering reporting officer, anything involving the individuals who held directorships at the bank, which allegedly was a massive money laundering machine, appears to be off limits. Sooner or later, of course, the Statute of Limitation will act to remove the threat of indictment from the bank's senior leadership, but one item remains a mystery; how was the bank financed, meaning capitalized?

Many legal experts familiar with the case believe that the reports of cash being funnelled to Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, the owner and board chairman, came from Venezuela, and that those funds were the proceeds of crime, but details of such transfers, and evidence admissible in a court of law, has never surfaced. Such proof would certainly be welcomed by not just Malta, the defendant bi Ali Sadr's strange international arbitration, as well as American law enforcement, as it was alleged to be in dollars, which confers jurisdiction to US Courts.

Even more puzzling is the role played by two Turkish bankers, MUSTAFA CETINEL and EKMEL CLINGIR, who appear only in Pilatus' early years. We do know that an unidentified banker traveled to Venezuela, in connection with Pilatus funding, but thus far, his identity has never been publicly confirmed, though I have my suspicions.

There are so many unanswered questions about Pilatus Bank's illicit operation that should be answered, but given the free pass handed out to Ali Sadr, due to what was described as a Brady violation, we may never be able to secure the answers, leaving us with questions about whether he rendered Substantial Cooperation, and whether it was worth giving him that precious Get-out-of-Jail-Free card, and whether it occurred due to Undue Influence from upstairs at DOJ.