Pilatus Bank chairman arrested in the US

Updated 8.10am The chairman of Maltese-registered Pilatus Bank has been arrested on US charges that he participated in a scheme to evade US sanctions and funnel more than $115 million paid under a Venezuelan construction contract through the US financial system, US federal prosecutors said. Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad, 38, was charged in a six-count indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan accusing him of a role in a scheme to evade US economic sanctions against Iran, prosecutors said. His arrest happened on the same day that Maria Efimova, a former Pilatus employee who claimed the bank held evidence that the Prime Minister's wife Michelle Muscat was the ultimate beneficial owner of Panama company Egrant, surrendered to Greek authorities. The claims had been reported by slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. At the time, Mr Nejad had been filmed at night carrying two bags out of the bank using the emergency exit. He went straight to the airport.  Sadr was arrested on Monday in Dulles, Virginia, according to court papers. A lawyer for Sadr declined comment. READ: FIAU says Pilatus Bank shortcomings 'no longer subsist' Prosecutors said Sadr's family controlled an Iranian...