MFSA refuses to say who carried out Pilatus licence checks

Updated at 12.30pm MFSA officials on Thursday confirmed that the due diligence on Pilatus Bank was not carried out by KPMG but refused to tell MEPs which firm had carried it out saying they were bound by a confidentiality clause. They insisted it was not KPMG nor a Maltese firm but a reputable institution which was commissioned to carry out such jobs by other EU member states, including the UK banking watchdog. Moreover, they insisted that at the time they were not aware that the Pilatus Bank owner was already under investigation by the US authorities. Money laundering allegations surrounding the Ta’ Xbiex-based Pilatus Bank whose owner, Ali Sadr Hasheminejad has been indicted in the US over evasion of international sanctions, were raised during a European Parliament committee meeting held in Brussels. The TAX3 Special Committee meeting as it is called, focused on combating money laundering in the EU banking system. Malta Financial Services Authority director general for enforcement, Anton Bartolo and Marianne Scicluna respectively fielded the questions, together with the head of government's anti-money laundering agency (FIAU), Kenneth Farrugia. Faced by criticism on the manner...