Pilatus bank Chairman Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, as well as other members of the bank's executive team testified before the magisterial inquiry today, taking around eight hours.

Magistrate Aaron Bugeja is inquiring into the allegations made by journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, that the mysterious Egrant company set up in Panama is or was owned by the Prime Minister's wife Michelle Muscat. The allegations read that the declarations of trust containing this information were kept at Pilatus Bank, which allegedly also holds an account for Egrant. The magisterial inquiry, (being conducted by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja) was launched after Pilatus Bank Chairman Ali Sadr Hasheminejad and risk manager Antoniella Gauci were both captured on film leaving Pilatus bank last Thursday evening, carrying two bags, resulting in many doubting the possible inquiry result.

Following the session, the Chairman addressed the press.

"We had a very substantive and long conversation and covered a lot of ground. As you all know, the inquiry began on Friday morning, and the Bank voluntarily made itself subject to that inquiry and fully cooperated with inspectors. We provided all the books, papers and documents - the entire core banking system of the bank as well as the IT platform. Alongside of that, is the closed circuit TV of the bank which runs 24/7 within the bank. Any recordings can alleviate any concerns that were  brought up prior to the inquiry on Friday morning. It is important to note that Pilatus bank is subject to many laws and regulations in Malta, the EU and internationally. It has some of the highest standards practices for a bank, in terms of governance, systems, compliance and internal controls."

"To somehow suggest that the due diligence at Pilatus bank is not of the highest standards is patently false, and it is important to note that the bank will remain open to the media. You will see more of us in the coming days as this unravels. It is important for us to be in touch with you and it is important to allow inspectors to do a good job. Since the start of the inquiry they have worked round the clock so that they can finish this process and come to the conclusion as quickly as possible."

At this point, he began to move away from the media present, however journalists pressed on, and asked questions.

In response to questions, he said that anyone who does business with the bank will go through a rigorous compliance process. He would not confirm or deny whether OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, and members of the Aliyev family have accounts with the bank, stating that he cannot comment on any clients the bank may or may not have.

He denied taking client documents out of the bank Thursday evening. "If you are suggesting that documents were taken out of the bank it's false. No documents related to any clients were taken out of the bank on Thursday evening. There are documents that belong to the Bank Chairman for the board, and documents of that nature that are always there for me to review and work on."

Asked for his opinion about reports that the FIAU were investigating the bank, he said that the FIAU should be asked. "I am not at liberty to discuss that. Either that is prior, in the future, or ongoing inspections, no inspections can be disclosed to the public (sic)."

He was accompanied by a number of individuals from the bank's executive, including Head of Legal and Compliance Dr. Claude-Anne Sant Fournier, Chief Operating Officer Luis Felipe Rivera, and Risk Manager Antoniella Gauci.