Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1025219
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 SEPTEMBER 2018 3 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Decrying what he called "this crusade against Liam Debono" Cachia said things had been started from a presumption of guilt. "I think this is the only case where we have a protest about an accused being attended unfortunately by the President. He noted that the President herself is being held civilly responsible for the Paqpaqli incident, a case with similar injuries." But Magistrate Mifsud had no truck with this argument, saying that had he not been prohibited by ethics, he would have gone "shoulder to shoulder with the President." In view of his early drug problem he is ideal for rehab, said the lawyer. "He is facing 40 years in prison," said the magistrate. "Five months in Mtahleb – he's not being mistreated." The court, in reply to his bail request, not- ed the seriousness of the offence, the effect on public order, the risk of repeat offending and the high risk of him fleeing due to the possible sentence, and refused the request. Case law established that the reasonable- ness of time held under arrest was to be de- termined on a case-by-case basis. In an impressively-researched decree which made reference to a trove of Euro- pean and domestic case law, the court ex- amined the criteria for denying bail, saying these subsisted. The presumption of inno- cence could be outweighed by other factors it said. magius@mediatoday.com.mt MASSIMO COSTA THE money-laundering case against George and Alfred Degiorgio and George Degiorgio's partner, Anca Adelina Pop, continued in court yes- terday. The three are all accused of be- ing involved in a series of money laundering-related offences. The two brothers, Alfred Degiorgio, 'il-Fulu', and George Degiorgio, 'ic-Ciniz', are also being accused, in a separate case, of the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The court, presided by Magistrate Joe Mifsud, heard yesterday morn- ing how while it appears, from testimony, that George Degiorgio and his partner Pop were not avid gamblers, Alfred Degiorgio had gambled €570,000 over the years, losing €71,000. Taking the stand, former Assis- tant Police Commissioner Neville Aquilina, now an employee with an iGaming company, said he had been appointed to determine whether the Degiorgio brothers and Pop were clients of Dragonara Casino. He said that George Degiorgio had only been to the casino on one occasion, while Pop had never visited it. Alfred Degiorgio, on the other hand, was a regular client, and had gambled over €39,000 in three years, losing €18,000 of these. Portomaso and Oracle Casino representative Abigail Fenech, also taking the stand, said that George Degiorgio and his partner had never been clients of these two casinos. Alfred Degiorgio, howev- er, had gambled over €40,000 and lost €31,000 in the Oracle Casino, and had also gambled more than €457,000 and lost €16,000 in the Portomaso gambling establish- ment. A Casino Malta representa- tive, another gambling establish- ment witness, told the court how Alfred Degiorgio had gambled €34,000 and lost around €6,000 there. Fexserv Financial Services repre- sentative Paul Vassallo, also giv- ing testimony yesterday, presented the court with a set of 52 foreign transactions George Degiorgio had made. He also presented eight foreign transactions for Alfred Degiorgio, and 57 such transactions for his partner Pop. Vassallo, in addition, exhibited 52 other transactions going back five years, where Pop had received money from abroad via Western Union transfers. The case continues on 22 Octo- ber. mcosta@mediatoday.com.mt Alfred Degiorgio gambled €570,000 over the years, losing €71,000, court hears A number of witnesses testified yesterday in the money-laundering case against George and Alfred Degiorgio and George Degiorgio's partner, Anca Adelina Pop WELCOME to 'Blockchain island': Malta is now set to have its first ever property sold by Bitcoin – non-ne- gotiable. A vast 860sq.m historic building in the heart of Valletta, with permits for development into a hotel or office space, comes with a €3 million price tag but can only be purchased in Bitcoin. If successful, it would mean its current property owner, Ian Fitzpatrick, would have clinched the first ever cryptocurrency property sale in Malta. "I believe that there are a number of affluent individu- als in this new business com- munity viewing Malta as the most attractive place for in- vestment," Fitzpatrick told CoinRivet. "The palazzo can be devel- oped into a boutique hotel or even into a cool housing pro- ject for employees. Investing in real estate in Valletta is cer- tainly a smart step for anyone looking to establish himself on Blockchain Island." The Republic Street palazzo has 18 bedrooms and will go on sale for 550BTC. "Despite its imposing facade and religious symbolism, little could be gleaned in the way of this building's history," Cryp- tohomes write on their prop- erty website. "When asked, a number of nearby residents and shop owners always recall the house as a tenement block or 'kerrejja' which remained as such until 15 odd years ago ever since it was abandoned. There was also a small printing press operating from one of the rooms, evidence of which can still be seen today." CryptoHomes.io is a property website to make more real es- tate listings available through crypto, a joint venture between management consultants Kes- sler ¦ Stockhausen Consulting Ltd and Avorin Advisory Ltd. Fitzpatrick and Wolf Kes- sler are co-shareholders in the company VLT Boutique Ltd, which is registered at 98, Re- public Street, Valletta. One of CryptoHomes' initia- tors – Dennis Avorin – said the move was a big step in proving cryptocurrency has a future in purchasing assets in the same way as regular cash. "Crypto is here to stay and we want to showcase that cryptocurrencies are not only commodities for speculators but also a means to purchase solid assets," Dennis Avorin, of Avorin Advisory, told CoinRi- vet. "Purchasing real estate with crypto is like purchasing real estate with fiat – the same due diligence and rules apply. We simply want to promote the use of crypto as a vehicle for solid investments and Malta is a great start with the incred- ibly strong real estate market that we have seen in the past few years." €3 million Valletta palazzo can only be purchased in Bitcoin Defence lawyer decries 'crusade' against Liam Debono