A top aide to former Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat accused of graft by journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, whose brutal murder rocked the nation, was charged on Saturday with money laundering and fraud.
AFP reports that Schembri, who was Muscat’s chief of staff from 2013 to 2019, appeared in court on Saturday charged with money laundering, corruption, fraud and forgery. He pleaded not guilty and was denied bail
This is how the court drama unfolded.
Update First Group Arraigned – The first group of the 11 have arrived at court. Meanwhile preparations are ongoing inside Hall 22 which will be hosting this evening’s sitting as the main players take their seats. The first group is made up of Brian Tonna, Karl Cini, Manual Castagna and Lorraine Falzon and Katrin Bondin Carter. First charges were read against the four involved in Nexia BT. The companies Nexia BT and its subsidiaries BT International Ltd, Nexia BT Advisory Services, BTI Services Ltd, and SPX and Willerby Trading were mentioned. In terms of Nexia BT – Brian Tonna was Managing Partner, Cini and Castagna were both Partners, and Bondin Carter was the company’s Financial Controller. All four of the defendants are being accused of money laundering. Cini and Tonna are being accused of conspiracy and of forgery. Cini, Tonna, and Castagna are also being accused of giving false information to a public official. Tonna, Cini, and Castagna all plead not guilty to the charges. The court upholds the prosecution’s request and orders the freezing of all the accused’s assets and places it in the hands of third parties, prohibiting them from disposing of any property. The court also upheld the prosecution’s request to deny bail to the four accused.
Update – Keith Schembri, former Chief of Staff of ex PM Joseph Muscat in the dock
Keith Schembri, his father Alfio, Malcolm Scerri, Schembri’s business partner, and Robert Zammit are accused of money laundering, complicity in an offence that carries a prison term and fraud. Keith Schembri and Malcolm Scerri are accused of corruption and giving false testimony. Keith Schembri alone is accused of forgery. Robert Zammit is also accused of making a false declaration to public authority.
Several companies represented by the accused are also facing charges. Alfio Schembri represents Kasco Holdings Ltd, while Scerri represents Kasco Ltd and Kasco Engineering Ltd, among others. Schembri himself is also representing a number of companies.
All plead not guilty to the charges. As in the previous cases, the court imposes a freezing order over all the men’s property. The prosecution, like in the previous cases, has objected to the request for bail.
The Magistrate decided against the bail, given that the circumstances have changed and as such, like in the previous group, all four will be denied bail and will be going to remain under arrest in prison.
Update – Zenith Financing’s Matthew Pace and Lorraine Falzon arraigned
Lorraine Falzon and Matthew Pace, are charged in their personal capacity and on behalf of the company Zenith Financing. The charges are linked to money laundering, accountancy law breaches and criminal conspiracy. They both plead not guilty. As before, freezing orders have been issued against the accused, who have requested bail. The prosecution is objecting to the bail request for the same reasons. The court denies bail.
Update – Former Allied Group Director Vincent Buhagiar arraigned
Buhagiar is charged with money laundering, criminal conspiracy, fraud and false declarations to Malta Enterprise and Customs. He denies the charges.
The court granted Buhagiar bail, and imposed a €20,000 deposit and €40,000 personal guarantee.
News Sources:
Update Reaction by Simon Busuttil
Update – 11 persons to be charged on money laundering, corruption and fraud
Earlier the Malta Police Force has issued a statement announcing that t after the conclusion of two magisterial inquiries and folloiwng intensive investigations by the FCID’s anti-money laundering squad, 11 people will be charged later today. These 11 people have not been named, but we know from the statement that nine are men and two are women.
Charges will also be issued against 20 companies, the police said. The charges are going to be before Duty Magistrate Charmaine Galea and will relate to, amongst other things, corruption, fraud, and money laundering. Newsbook. com.mt
People to be charged include the former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri, as well as Nexia BT partners Brian Tonna and Karl Cini. They could also include Schembri’s business partner Malcolm Scerri and his father Alfio Schembri. Former Allied Group directors Adrian Hillman, who is said to be abroad, and Vincent Buhagiar are expected to be amongst the accused. MaltaToday
The charges are believed to be based on a magisterial inquiry requested by then Opposition leader Simon Busuttil into alleged money transfers to Adrian Hillman, the former managing director of Allied Newspapers Ltd. The case goes back to 2011-2015 when Schembri’s company, Kasco, was awarded a multi-million contract for the supply of the printing press. It is alleged that Schembri paid Hillman some €650,000 through offshore companies and accounts. The payments were made to Hillman’s offshore company Lester Holdings in the British Virgin Islands. Schembri used companies based in Gibraltar and accounts in Switzerland as well as Pilatus Bank. Times of Malta
The Daphne Caruana Galizia foundation has welcomed Schembri’s arraignment, which it said was overdue, having been revealed by the murdered journalist in March 2016. “The failure to prosecute Schembri five years ago allowed him to commit crimes related to Daphne’s assassination and her investigative work. Prosecuting Schembri today brings us a step closer to a Malta where no one is above the law. It is the country Daphne fought for and the one we all deserve.”
Updated 1233 – Covid-19 Update
Five persons died while being Covid-19 positive, health authorities said this afternoon. The victims’ age ranged between 68 and 85. The death tally now stands at 369. 210 new cases of coronavirus were reported on Saturday, with the number of recoveries reaching 230. This means that the number of active cases continues to slowly decrease, standing at 2,873.
Updated 1130 – Keith Schembri possibly to be charged today
Keith Schembri, the former chief of staff of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, has been called by the police’s financial crime unit together with rian Tonna and Karl Cini of Nexia BT followed by officials from Zenith, another financial services company.
The charges are believed to be mainly based on a magisterial inquiry requested by then Opposition leader Simon Busuttil into alleged money transfers to Adrian Hillman, the former managing director of Allied Newspapers Ltd. It is expected that Schembri may be charged later today.
Keith Schembri’s wife was also seen entering the building as was the former Progress Press Managing Director Vince Buhagiar.
Newspaper Review
The Times reports that a request to the House Speaker to provide the tax assessment filed by Prime Minister Robert Abela in 2017 has been turned down. The office of the Speaker said it was acting on the advice of an unnamed lawyer.
L-Orizzont says that the government will provide free medicine for persons with Cystic Fibrosis with an annual investment of €3 million. 26-year-old Mandy Vella, who has the condition, has made public appeals to the Prime Minister in recent months.
The Independent speaks to Women’s Right Foundation director Lara Dimitrijevic who said that time-barring should be removed from all cases of sexual abuse. The human rights lawyer said that it usually takes victims years to muster the courage to speak up.
In-Nazzjon says that the Facebook post published by Keith Schembri on Thursday, announcing that he is expecting criminal charges, reveals that the former chief of staff has been under police interrogation for the past month.
The Times quotes retiring Judge Joseph Zammit McKeon who used his last sitting to defend the judiciary. Although he admitted shortcomings in the members of the bench, Zammit McKeon warned that allowing the denigration of judiciary will spell trouble for the country.
L-Orizzont publishes an interview with the family of a girl with Down’s Syndrome. Graziella Bartolo Pizzuto said that, despite some limitations, her daughter Faith has many abilities just like other children.
The Independent reports on the death of a 77-year-old woman at Mater Dei on Friday, the latest Covid-19 victim. 179 new cases and 314 recoveries were registered, bringing the number of active cases down to 2,898.
In-Nazzjon says that the chapel at the Laferla Cross point on the outskirts of Siġġiewi has developed deep cracks and is in danger of collapsing, The chapel is the property of the Church but is considered national heritage.
L-Orizzont carries a story about a woman from the UK who died of Covid-19. In a public post, her daughter said that the 61-year-old had overcome leukaemia and endured a delicate transplant but succumbed to the coronavirus.
Morning Briefing
Cystic fibrosis patients to get free medicine
Medicinal products for cystic fibrosis patients will be made available to patients for free through the government formulary, Government said on Friday. The situation of persons suffering from such a condition was highlighted after a video by Mandy Vella had gone viral on social media. The Maltese government will now source the treatment, known as Kaftrio or Trikafta, through the health ministry’s central procurement unit and it will then be distributed to eligible patients.
Details about the procurement method have yet to be finalised, although Abela said that he had instructed officials to do so as soon as possible.
Current situation could have been avoided – PN
The current restrictive measures to limit the spread of the pandemic in Malta were inevitable, and could have been avoided had Malta taken precautionary action earlier. Bernard Grech, PN leader, said that residents of homes for the elderly are still in lockdown, noting how Malta was closing up when others where gradually returning to normality.
People were willing to make sacrifices for the common good, he said, but were told to ignore reality and given false hopes.
1,500 students will benefit from funds generated by foreign direct investment
An agreement of more than €100,000 was signed between the Community Malta Agency and three different schools. Around 1,500 students, 100 of whom have special needs, will benefit from this investment.
The Community Malta Agency is the governmental agency responsible for administering and processing all Maltese citizenship-related matters. Through this agreement, funds from the previous citizenship by investment programme and the newly set up residency regulations possibly leading to citizenship will be invested in St Paul’s Bay’s Primary School, Naxxar’s Senior School, and the Wardija Resource Centre.
The agreement was signed at the Wardija Resource Centre, which is part of the Maria Regina College offering special education after compulsory school age. With an investment of around €40,000, work will be done on a multisensory room, where skills related to students’ senses will be developed. In collaboration with the University of Malta, a new garden will also be planted for the purpose of creating a habitat for endemic butterflies, all while increasing their reproduction possibilities. Another section is to have an apiary where students can learn and enjoy their free time. A structure at the entrance will also be set up for sheltering students making their way into the school.
Covid-19 Update
179 new cases of coronavirus were reported on Friday. 314 persons recovered, lowering the number of active cases to below the 3,000 figures for the first time in days (2,898).
A 77 year old woman became the 364th fatality since the onset of the pandemic.
CDE Newsħ
