1745- Latest News update
Times of Malta says Construction tycoon Charles Polidano was arrested on Friday morning and taken in for questioning over suspected money laundering and corruption.
MaltaToday says Police have released new images of Karmenu Fino, the missing 83-year-old, on the day he went missing, wearing a shorts and a light blue polo shirt.
Newsbook says the remains of Lassana Cisse who was brutally murdered in Malta in 2019 have finally been repatriated to Ivory Coast, foreign affairs minister Ian Borg said on Friday.
TVM says five caravans in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, used by their owners as summer homes, were engulfed in flames early in the afternoon and Civil Protection Department firemen worked to control the fires.
Charles Polidano and son arrested over money laundering and corruption : The Times reports that construction tycoon Charles Polidano was arrested on Friday morning and taken in for questioning over suspected money laundering and corruption. Polidano, known as Iċ-Ċaqnu, was arrested at his home and taken in for questioning at the police’s Financial Crime Investigation Department. His son Gordon was also arrested. Police sources told Times of Malta that the construction magnate had been taken in following a lengthy investigation into suspected money laundering and corruption. He is suspected of having corrupted a senior official at a large entity through the sale of a property.
Police Commissioner describes challenge on inaction on Pilatus as a fishing expedition Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà called the proceedings filed by Repubblika, over inaction against top Pilatus Bank officials, a “fishing expedition” which did not apply to the circumstances of the case. – MaltaToday
No body injured after explosion in Baħar ic-Caghaq – Nobody was injured as an explosion rocked the Bahar ic-Caghaq caravan site on Friday afternoon. Police told The Malta Independent that they received reports of a blast at around 1:15pm – a blast which was subsequently followed by a fire. Three static caravans were destroyed in the blaze, as was a car and a van.
Bernard Grech aide Jeremy Gingell steps down – One of Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech’s aides, Jeremy Gingell, has announced his departure from his party role, raising yet again the tally of the PN’s post-election resignations. Gingell was one of Grech’s closest assistants during the 2022 electoral campaign. In a message to party workers, Gingell thanked Grech for having trusted him with his role as assistant. Gingell is one of three key people who resigned from the party following the 2022 election, the main ones being former right-hand man Ray Bezzina, and former campaign manager Chris Peregin, whose contract ended automatically on the last day of the election campaign. – Malta Today
EU bodies roped in after AG’s charges let Yorgen Fenech lawyers off the hook: Top EU and other European bodies have been roped in to support calls for accountability after the Attorney General fudged criminal charges against lawyers representing Yorgen Fenech. In a statement, the Daphne Caruana Galizia foundation said it had written to the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Commission to support calls for accountability. When delivering judgment, the court, presided over by Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, observed that although the two lawyers had been charged with active bribery and the compilation of evidence concerned that offence, the Attorney General had indicated another provision of law in its note for a referral.
Infrastructure Malta head quits after one month: Infrastructure Malta’s new CEO has quit just over a month after being appointed to the role, Times of Malta has confirmed. Trustin Farrugia Cann took over as CEO of the roads agency in May, following the resignation of Fredrick Azzopardi. Within 30 minutes of Times of Malta sending questions to the Infrastructure Ministry querying the resignation, Farrugia Cann took to Facebook to announce he is stepping down.
Covid-19 update: There were 704 new cases of Covid-19 as the number of active cases now stands at 6,666. Three people died and 266 people recovered
Missing 83-year old caught leaving care home at 3 am
The 83-year-old man who has gone missing from St Vincent de Paul home for the elderly casually walked out through the main gate at 3am on Wednesday last week, CCTV footage shows. The closed-circuit footage is being analysed by police investigators who are trying to trace the missing resident, Karmenu Fino. – Times of Malta
Hyzler says that partisan adverts shouldn’t be paid by tax-payer
Outgoing standards commissioner George Hyzler on Thursday insisted that partisan adverts should not be financed by taxpayers. He was speaking during a sitting of parliament’s Standards in Public Life Committee. – Times of Maltaalt
Joseph Muscat appointed as head of the Malta Professional Football Clubs Association
Former prime minister Joseph Muscat was on Thursday approved by Malta’s top-flight football clubs to become the head of a body representing them. Malta’s Premier League clubs voted to appoint Muscat to be the chairman of the Malta Professional Football Clubs Association (MPFCA). Reacting to news on his appointment, the former PM thanked premier league clubs for approaching him for the post. “My role will not delve into the administration of individual clubs, but to draw up a project of ambitious but achievable reforms which will modernise the top tier of Maltese football,” he said. Arnold Cassola said that the election of Joseph Muscat to head the Premier League clubs association is just an excuse to push for the commercialisation of the football stadia premises, independent candidate Arnold Cassola suggested.- Times of Malta / MaltaToday / Malta Independent
