On Saturday 30 June, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) announced that it has officially asked the European Central Bank (ECB) to withdraw the licence from the bank Pilatus, which has been accused of money laundering and other financial crimes. The bank was a frequent target of the anti-corruption investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was murdered last year (see EUROPE 11885).
In a press release, the Maltese authority refers to the indictment of the bank's president, Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad in the United States, following accusations of arranging for $115 million to be transferred from Venezuela to Iran via Switzerland and Turkey, in breach of American sanctions.
Under pressure, Maltese authority then froze the bank's transactions at the end of March. The European Banking Authority also decided to open an investigation.
“As a result of this indictment, the MFSA is no longer satisfied that the UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner) is a suitable person as required by the Banking Act”, the Maltese authority explains. It also refers to the bank's lack of sufficient liquidity.
EU rules give the ECB powers to issue and withdraw banking licences within the Eurozone, but no clear mandate on preventing money laundering, which remains the responsibility of the national authorities, as the monetary institute has reiterated several times (see EUROPE 12015).
The Eurogroup, which is aware of these difficulties, is considering a European action plan on the fight against money laundering, to be agreed upon at the end of 2018 on the basis of a report by the Commission, the ECB and the European Stability Mechanism and anticipated for July (see EUROPE 12049).
The MFSA is now awaiting the ECB's assessment, which will consider whether the evidence is sufficiently solid before taking any further measures. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)