Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1101649
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 APRIL 2019 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA THE Malta Football Associa- tion has yet to take any action over the identification of a Maltese club president in an Italian sting on an interna- tional betting syndicate. Four years after their identi- fication as financiers of an ille- gal football betting syndicate, the case against two Maltese men continues this week in Italy. Yet, despite being charged in the Operation Dirty Soccer sting, Robert Farrugia, 49, is still president of Msida St Jo- seph. His brother Adrian Far- rugia, 38, had resigned from the post of Mosta FC team manager at the time. Robert Farrugia yesterday in- sisted he was never notified by the Italian courts before hang- ing up on MaltaToday. Asked whether he ever consulted a lawyer as to what the charges might mean for him, Farrugia said: "I was never even inter- ested," and hung up the line. The two brothers were re- portedly part of a syndicate of 50 men and women, many of them arrested by Italian police from Catanzaro, including Italian nationals who coached or served in the administra- tion of Maltese club football. One of them was Felice Bell- ini, formerly a sporting direc- tor at Vittoriosa Stars FC, and the team's former coach, Ar- turo Di Napoli. And yet, while both Bellini and Di Napoli are said to have been blacklisted by the MFA, no similar action has been tak- en against the Farrugias. An MFA source, however, said that the association had its hands tied since the match- es in question did not concern the Maltese football league. The source said that the Ital- ian national association FIGC had sent the MFA their own report on the allegations, but there was also the risk that without any definitive court decree or sentencing, the MFA would not take any ac- tion. Transcripts from the Ital- ian sting on an international network of illegal betting on Italy's Serie D and Lega Pro (fourth and third division re- spectively) football leagues, had revealed a conversation between Robert Farrugia and Bellini, over tens of thousands in euros lost on a low-level match. Farrugia is heard telling Bell- ini that his brother Adrian was being threatened with his life by Chinese gamblers who had lost €52,000. The bet was played on a low- level match between Aversa Normanna and Barletta, with Robert Farrugia heard com- plaining that the reason for the unexpected 0-1 Barletta win was the fault of team coach Ninni Corda – who was also arrested in Operation Dirty Soccer. Farrugia is heard blaming Corda, demanding Bellini to make the coach refund the €52,000 lost on the bet. He is heard saying that Chinese gamblers had lost €52,000 and his brother was "risking it big" because of the loss. Bellini had arrived in Malta in 2013 as part of a collabora- tion agreement to bring Ital- ian players to Qormi United. He then moved to First Divi- sion club Vittoriosa Stars as director-general, where his compatriot and former Napoli and Inter striker Arturo di Napoli served as head coach. Operation Dirty Soccer was the umpteenth earthquake in Italian football. The syndicate of people traditionally beyond suspicion – football players, club presidents and managers, and businessmen from Serbia, Malta, China, Kazakhstan, Russia and Italy – are accused of betting on low-tier games of the Italian Serie D, Lega pro (formerly Serie C), and second division Serie B games. The investigation, in fact, started from a police interest in 'Ndrangheta captain Pietro Iannazzo, who staked bets on the Neapolis football club, which eventually led police to the international syndicate. The Catanzaro special mo- bile unit stumbled on a multi- million euro network of illegal betting where teams were des- ignated to lose, so that they could reap the most out of football bets. Investigators suspect 28 matches from the ongoing season were rigged and the suspected financiers being investigated include Serbian, Maltese and Albanian nation- als. Police across Italy round- ed up 27 team presidents and managers, 17 players, five coaches, and one police of- ficer, and raided club offices. mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Msida boss stays on despite Italy probe Robert Farrugia in a photo from the Msida St Joseph FC Facebook page CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Based on that report, the po- lice have since searched the residences of Eucharist Ba- jada, his son 'Kris' Eucharist jnr., and his former wife Diana Busuttil. With Kris Bajada still undergoing medical treatment at Mater Dei's intensive thera- py unit, Magistrate Bugeja has ordered a police sentry out- side Kris Bajada's residence to thwart any attempt to enter the residence. The alleged falsified signa- tures upon which Delia de- manded a police investigation last week so far have included a memorandum of association for the company Frankef Ltd. Frankef Ltd was owned by Kris Bajada, while Delia held just 10 out of 24,000 shares. The variations of Delia's signatures have long been present on public documents connected to Frankef and the Soho properties' holding companies, either in the com- panies' registry or in docu- ments published in the press. For example, the signatures on the Frankef MOA and a Frankef altered MOA are alike, but they are then un- equivocally different to a sig- nature on a 1999 letter from Delia, in which he presents himself as the director of Healey Properties, one of the companies which owned the London properties implicated in a prostitution investiga- tion; as well as another signa- ture on a 2003 resolution for his resignation from Healey Properties. The Sunday Times of Malta has reported that the FIAU conducted an in-depth analy- sis of Delia's Jersey account, into which roughly £346,000 in cheques and cash were deposited from various bank branches around London. The FIAU tracked the funds from the Jersey account to two Swiss accounts as well as the company Healey Proper- ties Limited, which is regis- tered in the Bahamas. Healey Properties owned the London properties that were used as brothels. Eucha- rist Bajada, Healey's alleged owner, would collect the rent from the properties from his brother Emanuel Bajada and his wife Eve. Some £218,000 were trans- ferred to two accounts in Switzerland but it was unclear where the money moved to next. £91,568 went to Healey Properties Ltd and £40,000 to E&M Bajada Ltd, in Malta. Healey Properties owned 52, Greek Street in London – a property that was raided by London police during Opera- tion Pabail, an investigation into a prostitution racket. Ac- cording to a letter addressed to Delia from the lawyers acting on behalf of Emanuel aka 'Lolly' Bajada, Healey and AAS Freight were the benefi- ciaries of the London rents. In December 2003, the law- yers for Healey and AAS in- sisted that Emanuel and Eve Bajada had not paid the rents accumulated from 1999 to the companies, some £20,000 every month, through Adrian Delia's Barclays International account in Jersey. Jersey cheque carries Delia signature