Repubblika publishes certified reproduction of Pilatus Bank inquiry conclusions

Repubblika’s Robert Aquilina has published what he claims are the conclusions of the report on the magisterial inquiry into Pilatus Bank.

The documents, written and certified by Aquilina himself, purport to be a copy of the report’s conclusions and were presented as proof that no action had been taken against the majority of the people whose prosecution had been ordered by that inquiry.

Addressing an anti-corruption rally outside the court building on Tuesday evening, Aquilina explained that he resorted to reproducing the conclusions in his own handwriting because publishing images of the documents themselves would reveal his source and jeopardise the source’s safety.

The first of the documents states that American financial consultancy firm Duff and Phelps, which had been engaged as an independent expert as part of the magisterial inquiry into Pilatus Bank, had recommended the court seek further information from the US authorities or US correspondent banks so as to confirm whether the alleged $1.017million Egrant transaction had in fact taken place, also recommending that interviews be held with bank whistleblower Maria Efimova and another Pilatus employee named Dina Stankovic.

It then skips to the conclusions of the inquiry as carried out by Magistrate Ian Farrugia. According to the documents published by Aquilina, the conclusions read:

“Having made a careful assessment of all the acts in this Inquiry, the inquiring magistrate is of the opinion that he should make his own - and is effectively doing so through this proces verbal [inquiry report] - the report by experts Duff and Phelps exhibited as ‘Document NP-4 Final Report Pilatus.’”

“Consequently directs the competent Maltese authorities - the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney General - to take action according to law on the strength of this final report, and in the context of document NP6, initiate criminal proceedings against, inter alia 

·       Pilatus Bank Ltd and/or

·       Pilatus Bank plc and/or

·       Pilatus Bank

·       Claude Anne Sant Fournier

·       Luis Felipe Riviera

·       Mehmet Tasli

·       Sayed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad

·       Antoniella Jane Gauci

·       Hamidreza Ghanbari

“This conclusion is being made without impinging on the Commissioner of Police’s and/or the Attorney General’s right to proceed against others on the strength of the findings of this inquiry. Also, the rights and/or obligations of the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney General to continue with the opportune investigations.

“Having made these findings, the inquiring magistrate directs this proces verbal, attaching to it the report by Inspectors Matthew Vella, Keith Vella and Claire Borg, as well as all the other acts of this inquiry be sent to the Attorney General in the timeframe established by law.”

See the documents published by Robert Aquilina below:

Aquilina hits out at Magistrate Lia

The police charged Pilatus Bank and Claude Anne Sant Fournier with money laundering in September last year and the case is ongoing. However, no charges have yet been filed against others, including bank owner Sayed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad.

During the meeting, Aquilina delivered a speech reiterating his criticism of the authorities’ inaction with regards to implementing the inquiring magistrate’s order to prosecute and repeating further criticism directed at Magistrate Nadine Lia, who refused Repubblika’s request that she recuse herself from presiding a case in which the NGO is seeking a court order compelling the Commissioner of Police to take action against the individuals singled out by the inquiry. Lia is related by marriage to lawyer Pawlu Lia, the lawyer of former prime minister Joseph Muscat.

“This is the evidence. These are the documents which I saw with my own eyes, which as a Notary, I prepared an authenticated copy of and exhibited in court last Thursday… I am doing this because this is what the people deserve: the truth,” Aquilina said.

The Pilatus Bank inquiry's findings have not been made public.

The Pilatus Bank inquiry is distinct from the Egrant inquiry, which had been requested by then prime minister Joseph Muscat in 2017 following allegations that his wife owned the Panama company Egrant with an account at the now shuttered bank.

The Egrant inquiry had found no link between the Muscats and Egrant.