[WATCH] Pilatus Bank chairman denies removing clients' documents, presents CCTV footage to inquiry

Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, chairman of Pilatus Bank, appeared before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja for hours on Monday • He said the bank had provided the inquiry all documents requested, as well as access to the bank's CCTV footage, its core software and IT system

Pilatus Bank chairman Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad
Pilatus Bank chairman Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad

The inquiry into allegations that the Prime Minister’s wife is the owner of shares in the offshore company Egrant continued on Monday as magistrate Aaron Bugeja heard testimony from the chairman and employees of Pilatus Bank.

Bank chairman Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad appeared before the magistrate in a sitting which lasted at least three hours. Three other employees - risk manager Antonella Gauci, head of legal Claude-Anne Sant Fournier and Chief Operating Officer Luis Felipe Rivera – were also present in court.

In a statement made after meeting the magistrate, Hasheminejad said he had had a “very substantive and long conversation” with the magistrate in which “a lot of ground was covered”.

He added that the bank had “voluntarily made itself subject” to the inquiry and had “fully cooperated with inspectors”.

“We provided all the books, papers and documents and the entire core banking system of the bank as well as the IT platform. Along with the closed-circuit TV of the bank which runs 24/7 within the bank,” he said. “Any recordings can alleviate concerns that were brought up prior to the inquiry on Friday morning.”

He stressed that Pilatus bank is subject to “many laws and regulations in Malta, the EU and internationally” and that the bank’s governance, systems, compliance and internal controls are of the “highest standard for a bank”.

"To somehow suggest that the due diligence at Pilatus bank is not of the highest standards is patently false, and it is important to note that the bank will remain open to the media,” he continued, adding that the media should expect to see more of the bank in the coming days.

“It is important for us to be in touch with you and it is important to allow inspectors to do a good job. Since the start of the inquiry they have worked round the clock so that they can finish this process and come to the conclusion as quickly as possible," he said.

 

Read more: Pilatus Bank, Nexia, an Azerbaijani millionaire and a €627,000 loss

 

On Thursday evening NET News filmed the chairman and Antoinella Gauci leaving the bank carrying a number of pieces of luggage, fuelling speculation that the chairman had removed key documents before the police could seal the premises.

At the time, Hasheminejad insisted he was carrying the bags because he had just arrived from the airport.

Asked once again, whether he had taken documents from the bank, the chairman said the allegations were false.

"If you are suggesting that documents were taken out of the bank it's false. No documents related to any clients were taken out of the bank on Thursday evening,” he said. “There are documents that belong to the Bank Chairman for the board, and documents of that nature that are always there for me to review and work on."

Moreover, The Sunday Times of Malta reported on Sunday a 2016 FIAU investigation into the bank had found serious failures in its money laundering prevention systems, with the report having been forwarded to Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).

This too was denied by the banker, who insisted that he was not able to comment on any investigations, past or present.

The MFSA has since stated, through a statement, that the bank is subject to all “prudential and supervisory rules and on-going supervisory procedures applicable to credit institutions.

“This is evidenced, inter alia, through the on-site inspection carried out at the Bank by the MFSA in 2015 already reported in the media,” it said.

Finally, Hasheminejad again refused to comment on whether Keith Schembri or members of the Aliyev family own bank accounts with the bank, arguing that he was not at liberty to divulge any information about clients.

The magisterial inquiry was requested by the Prime Minister late on Thursday after Daphne Caruana Galizia claimed that Egrant - which she had previously claimed had received $1 million from a company owned by Leyla Aliyev, daughter of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev – is owned by Muscat.

The inquiry is to investigate:

  • Whether there was an authentic document showing that an undeclared company or bank account could have belonged to the Prime Minister, his wife’s or his family;
  • Whether Egrant or any member of the Muscat family has an undeclared bank account in Pilatus bank or any other bank;
  • Whether Egrant or any related bank account has ever received money;
  • If transfers from the bank were ever made to these companies anywhere in the world;
  • If transfers of funds took place from any bank to Michelle Buttigieg, the business partner of Michelle Muscat.