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MT 27 May 2018

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2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MAY 2018 CONTINUED FORM PAGE 1 Two men, aged 25 and 36, re- spectively from Dingli and Mo- sta, and a woman, 29 of Mosta, were severely injured in the in- cident. The three were taken to Mater Dei Hospital for treat- ment. One of the men identified was fireworks enthusiast Colin Mus- cat, 36 (pictured). According to Net News, the explosion emanated from one petard which in turn catalysed multiple petards inside the com- pound. Frans Xuereb said the workers were finishing their shift and preparing to head home, be- fore going to the Munxar feast in Gozo to transport the fireworks there. Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia arrived on site just be- fore 4pm, and Nationalist MP Kristy Debono arrived at around 4:30pm. Magistrate Marse-ann Farrugia, who was informed of the case, opened an inquiry and appointed various aspects to as- sist her. Visit MaltaToday online for latest news www.maltatoday.com.mt CONTINUED FORM PAGE 1 The banker was arrested in March and charged on several counts of breaching sanctions on Iran as well as with bank fraud and money laundering, by processing the payments in US dollars from a Venezue- la housing project to Iranian beneficiaries that included his family's business group. Lawyers for Hasheminejad presented an impressive bail package of conditions and bonds that total some $34 million, which include al- most 40 bonds from family, friends and colleagues worth almost $14 million. They said Hasheminejad would accept having travel restricted to New York, parts of Virginia, Maryland, and D.C., surren- dering his passports, and even being subjected to electronic monitoring. "Even Bernie Madoff, who had his own private jet and personal yacht, and was charged with a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, was granted bail on a $10 million bond a nightly curfew, and travel re- stricted to the tristate area," the lawyers said. The bonds included "mean- ingful pledges" from close friends and relatives who have pledged property and retirement accounts to assure Hasheminejad will appear in court to answer for charges of having breached US sanctions against Iran. The lawyers are arguing that such pledges carry an "ex- traordinary sting" for these people should Hasheminejad not appear in court. The bail package was op- posed by the US govern- ment's district attorney Geof- frey Bearman, who accused him of having set up Pilatus bank in 2013 with "criminal proceeds" from the US dollar payments to Iranian benefi- ciaries. Bearman told the judge that €8 million and 1 million Swiss francs from the payments made to the Hasheminejads on the Venezuelan housing construction project, were used to set up Pilatus Bank. The bank is now under con- trollership by the Maltese fi- nancial regulator after it froze its operations. Bearman said Hashemine- jad's wealth, which includes a $12.9 million equity in Pila- tus, was ultimately forfeitable "because it constitutes crimi- nal proceeds directly linked to the Venezuela project". He also alleged that Hashem- inejad's $1.5 million Wash- ington D.C. apartment was also forfeitable "because it was purchased with criminal proceeds linked to the Ven- ezuelan project"; as were the California pistachio farms, with an alleged $5.7 million; and properties owned by the Hasheminejad family in the US were also forfeitable. Hasheminejad arrest Hasheminejad was arrested in Virginia as he returned to his Washington home, charged with bank fraud and breaching US sanctions against Iran. He is accused of having funnelled some $115 million through the United States on behalf of Iranian entities, including his family's company Stratus, from a Ven- ezuelan construction project to companies in Switzerland and Turkey. On 18 March, Hashem- inejad flew from Dublin to Washington DC, arriving for a one-day trip. He was ar- rested the next day at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport before boarding a flight to London, where Pila- tus has another office. The Maltese financial regu- lator has said it is carrying out a "transaction-by-trans- action" review at Pilatus Bank together with the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit. The extensive review is still ongoing, MFSA director-gen- eral Marianne Scicluna told MEPs in the TAX3 commit- tee on financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance that the MFSA and FIAU were already carrying out the comprehensive review before the US indictment of Ali Sadr Hasheminejad. She said the purpose of the review is to "get to the bottom of allegations and concerns as to whether money laundering was carried out in the bank" and that it would provide a robust assessment of the bank's actions. The bank's operations are already the subject of at least two magisterial inquiries, one triggered on an allegation by the late journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia that it pro- cessed a $1 million payment on behalf of the Azerbaijani ruling family, to the wife of prime minister Joseph Mus- cat; the other on a complaint filed by the former PN leader Simon Busuttil on money paid by Nexia BT partner Bri- an Tonna to the PM's chief of staff Keith Schembri shortly after receiving payment from Russian clients who had ac- quired Maltese citizenship under the IIP. mvella@mediatoday.com.mt NEWS 62 55 3 12 26 45 14 22 26-05-2018 Draw No: 725 Pilatus Bank owner granted bail PHOTO ALEXIA SOLLAR Three hospitalised with severe burns in explosion

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