FIAU was aware Pilatus chairman was being investigated abroad

Updated at 12.30pm The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit was aware that the chairman of Pilatus Bank, Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, was the subject of a criminal investigation  in a foreign jurisdiction for money laundering, illegal money transmission as well as other violations. “Mr Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad is not believed to be the main target of the investigation, however the FIAU is informed that he is one of the persons being investigated,” a financial investigation report leaked last year said. No information was given on which jurisdiction was involved. Mr Ali Sadr Hasheminejad was on Wednesday arrested in the US in connection with $115 million worth of payments funnelled to Iran for works done in Venezuela. Read: Pilatus Bank chairman arrested in the US The information in the report emerged as part of the FIAU’s investigation into the allegations about Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri, relating to transactions involving funds from the Individual Investor Programme. It submitted a preliminary report on its findings to the police commissioner in April 2016. It then carried out a more in-depth investigation, and looked into...