The court is set to conduct a preliminary investigation into Greek owner’s allegations in the wake of a call by the anti-Iran lobby for an official probe into the Restis group and its alleged dealings with Iran.
The New York-based UANI and the shipowner first clashed in May when Wallace accused Restis, together with First Business Bank, and the Restis clan's shipping firm, Enterprises Shipping & Trading, of being “frontmen for the illicit Iranian regime”. Restis was non-executive chairman of the small FB Bank prior to its being absorbed into the National Bank of Greece in mid-May.
UANI had obtained a copy of a letter in which Greek businessman Dimitris Cambis, who was already on the US Treasury Department’s black list, appeared to solicit a “strategic alliance” between FB Bank and Iran’s oil ministry. Restis has denied either he or his family group had been involved in illicit business dealings with Iran.
On 15 July, under Wallace’s name, UANI issued a series of statements which it said backed the existence of suspicious business links between Restis and Iran. Restis Group lawyers have warned UANI to drop its campaign against the shipping group and to retract its accusations. Now the suit has been filed.
At the end of May Restis met with attorneys in New York and Washington to consider the possibility of pursuing a libel case against UANI, which in the meanwhile, has sought to get the Restis Group to submit to various investigations.
UANI has urged relevant US federal, state and port authorities to bar the Greece-based group from engaging in US-related business. UANI earlier this year launched a campaign urging North American ports to deny access to shipping companies that operate or call in Iran.
UANI has accepted Restis’ US counsel’s statement he is not currently engaged in business dealings with Iran, but insists on an investigation because "of the dark cloud” that it said still shrouded previous dealings. Wallace said UANI has written to Restis on four occasions, asking the shipowner to "clarify the numerous documents and statements that describe dealings between Mr Restis, Mr Cambis and Iran".
Wallace said several suggestions had been made to enable Restis to clarify the matter, but "he has failed to respond" and instead "has resorted to the bullying tactics' of a billionaire's hubris".
Wallace, a former US ambassador to the UN says Restis has defamed and threatened, “a not-for-profit entity whose sole agenda is to ensure Iran does not achieve its goal of possessing a nuclear weapon. His tactics amount to a threat to use his vast financial resources to bankrupt UANI and its leadership unless UANI reveals its (highly credible) confidential sources, recants its public concerns regarding Mr. Restis, and makes a groundless apology”.
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