MFSA refuses to issue ‘privileged’ documents in US Pilate case
Malta’s financial regulator has refused to authorize the release of legally “privileged” documents in a case in the United States opened by the parent company of Pilatus Bank.
Alpene Limited is seeking documentation to substantiate its claim that Pilatus Bank was wrongly closed by regulators in response to the arrest of bank owner and chairman Ali Sadr.
The case of money laundering and sanctions cuts against Sadr fell last year due to disclosure failures by U.S. prosecutors.
As part of the legal lawsuit against the Maltese regulators, Alpene Limited requested access to documents in connection with the actions taken by the MFSA that led to the appointment of senior banker Lawrence Connell to lead Pilatus Bank.
Connell was appointed by the MFSA as the “competent person” to run Pilatus Bank on the recommendation of Promontory, an American consulting firm.
According to legal files, Promontory had a “lasting” relationship with the MFSA dating back to 2012.
Former Promontory CEO Elizabeth McCaul told the U.S. court she was ordered by the MFSA not to disclose any privileged supervisory communication between Promontory and the financial regulator about Pilatus.
McCaul said she simply contacted Connell to determine his availability and willingness to act as a “competent” person to run Pilatus Bank.
She said Promontory had no role in the proper appointment or in the contractual terms drawn up between the MFSA and Connell.
Alpene Limited claimed that Connell, in agreement with Promontory and the Maltese law firm Mamo TCV, started selling and liquidating the bank’s assets, and placed them in the hands of the Maltese government.
Both Promontory and Mamo TCV denied the insinuations of wrongdoing.
Connell resigned from his role as bank manager earlier this year.
Alpene Limited’s lawyers continued to accuse the Maltese government of taking part in a series of “allegedly retaliatory acts” against Pilatus, particularly after bank owners raised concerns about “wrongdoing and recklessness”. Against him.
They claim that Maltese officials threatened former members of the Maltese bank’s staff and people connected to the bank, who have “direct and intimate knowledge” of the alleged corruption of Maltese officials, with criminal prosecution and political pressure.
Bank Pilatus and former officer Claude-Ann Saint Fournier were charged in September with alleged money laundering activities at the bank.
Malta’s anti-money laundering guard fined the bank € 4.9 million in August for these failures.
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