Pilatus Bank chairman charged with evading US sanctions to send $115M to Iran

Geoffrey S. Berman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Cyrus Vance Jr., New York County District Attorney, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced on Tuesday that ALI SADR HASHEMI NEJAD was arrested for his alleged involvement in a scheme to evade US economic sanctions against Iran, to defraud the United States, and to commit money laundering and bank fraud.

SADR was charged with participating in a scheme in which more than $115 million in payments for a Venezuelan housing complex were illegally funneled through the US financial system for the benefit of Iranian individuals and entities. SADR was arrested on Monday on a six-count Indictment and presented on Tuesday afternoon in US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. SADR’s case has been assigned to US District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. in the Southern District of New York.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad created a network of front companies and foreign bank accounts to mask Iranian business dealings in Venezuela and evade US sanctions. For years, Sadr allegedly funneled more than $115 million of a nearly half-billiondollar Venezuelan construction contract through the U.S. banking system, using entities in Switzerland, Turkey, and the British Virgin Islands to conceal Iran’s identity. The arrest of Sadr shows that US economic sanctions against Iran are for real, and violators will be exposed and prosecuted.”

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said: “This indictment is the result of an investigation launched by my Office in 2013 into this defendant and his illicit scheme to funnel millions from Venezuela to Iranian-controlled entities. The defendant’s conduct strikes at the very heart of what US economic sanctions are designed to prohibit. The most important values in the international community – respect for human rights, peaceful coexistence, and a world free from terrorism – depend on the effective enforcement of these sanctions. We are proud to join with our federal partners to protect the security of our nation and the integrity of our financial system.”