Ali Sadr denied bail. Trial date to be set on 16th May.

The United States federal court has denied Ali Sadr’s request for bail pending his trial for multiple counts of bank fraud and sanctions busting.

Ali Sadr’s lawyers argued for bail including the argument that the Maltese authorities had certified that he was under no suspicion for his activities at Pilatus Bank. In spite of this apparent endorsement the US court decided to order that Ali Sadr remains detained until the 16th May when a status conference will be convened.

Under US procedures a status conference is a court-ordered meeting with a judge where they decide the date of the trial. If a party does not attend the status conference, that party’s requests for scheduling changes will be ignored.