Daphne Foundation calls for extradition of exPilatus bank chairman

The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation is calling for the extradition of former Pilatus Bank chairman Ali Sadr Hasheminejad after charges against him in the United States were dropped.

The fact that Ali Sadr Hasheminejad was prosecuted in the US means he was charged on the basis of evidence of money-laundering, the foundation said in a statement on Friday.

The prosecution is ending on the basis of an alleged technical, procedural issue, and only in relation to charges of a breach of US sanctions. None of this changes the evidence against Hasheminejad, which remains overwhelming, the foundation said.

Proceedings in the United States do not exempt or prevent the Malta Police and Attorney General from prosecuting Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, it added.

On the contrary, it is now more important than ever that he is prosecuted in Malta. For this reason, the Government of Malta must request his extradition immediately, the foundation said.

Sadr previously owned and served as chairman of Pilatus Bank, a Malta-based bank that was shut down by the European Central Bank following Sadr’s arrest in the US in 2018 on charges of money laundering and sanctions busting.

The Guardian reports that in a statement released on Friday, the US attorney in New York asked a judge to dismiss the case, saying that it recognised that Sadr would have pursued different legal strategies if disclosures had been made to him during the trial.

NGO Repubblika expressed its disappointment at the dropping of the charges, adding its voice to the call for his extradition to Malta.

The Nationalist Party also expressed its support to the request made by the foundation. It said that the closure of the bank had caused damage to Malta’s repitation in a delicate sector, and led to risks of loss of jobs.