Pilatus Bank – Lest we forget

The FIAU revealed “serious shortcomings” that placed Pilatus “in breach of several provisions” of Malta’s money laundering rules, and which exposed the bank and “the jurisdiction as a whole to a high level of risk”. FIAU at the time had found Pilatus’s dependence on a small clientele of mainly Azerbaijani PEPs of great concern. Sadly MFSA and the Police Commissioner did not share the FIAU’s view.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat during secret meeting with President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, Azerbaijan

The point of intersection – Azerbaijan?

Now is the time to find out why Muscat, Schembri, Mizzi and Farrugia were keen to keep their visit to Azerbaijan that day secret, why they did not want any witnesses around them, and whether any of them are benefiting from the deal.