Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1176480
NEWS maltatoday | TUESDAY • 15 OCTOBER 2019 18 MATTHEW AGIUS FORMER fraud squad police in- spector Jonathan Ferris has told a court that a woman accused of running a Ponzi scheme was as- sisted by John Dalli – the former European commissioner – and his daughters, to process pay- ments from gold investments. The compilation of evidence against Dalli's daughters con- tinued Monday morning before Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo, where inspector Yvonne Farrugia also charged 75 year-old Marie Eloise Corbyn Klein with offences relating to money laun- dering and misap-propriation. Corbyn Klein, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, had missed previous court sittings and her own arraignment due to ill health. The Ponzi scheme, first re- ported by assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia back in 2015, was allegedly run by Cor- bin Klein, who operated under a number of aliases. The woman was later investigated by the FBI for having allegedly scammed Americans out of some $600,000 by posing as a Christian mis- sionary and convincing them to invest their sav-ings into an Afri- can mining project. Instead the money was fun- neled into two Maltese compa- nies – Tyre Ltd and Corporate Group – owned by Louise Dalli and Claire Gauci Borda, Dalli's two daughters, and which are registered at John Dalli's home address in Portomaso. Corbyn Klein refused to answer any questions in court today, not even confirming her identi-ty. A not guilty plea was entered on her behalf by the court. Ferris, who had investigated the case as part of the Economic Crimes Unit, testified about the investigation. In 2014, Ferris and then su- perintendent Paul Vassallo were investigating her in connection with an OLAF investigation. They had sent officers to observe a flat in Sliema and had sent for the flat's owner as nobody would answer the door. "We hit a brick wall because the owner of the flat in question said he had no con- tact with the tenants." The police had received vari- ous complaints from a company called Upstate 7, calling on them to investigate alleged fraud by Corporate Group Limited. Initial investigations started to reveal international aliases for Mary Swan, including an Ameri- can alias for Corbyn Klein, an Irish alias Marianne Swan and other aliases claiming to be from Paraguay and the Philippines. In May 2015, Superintendent Vassallo took Ferris to the site in Sliema. This time, someone opened for them and met them down the stairs. He was acting suspiciously, said Ferris, and gave his name as Robert Lewis Fioto II, an American citizen. He was arrested and given his rights. During the trip from Sliema to Valletta he told the police that he was an under-cover US agent and told them to contact a cer- tain FBI special agent to verify his identity. He took the police to a flat. Things were suspicious from the get go because he had not been able to insert the key in the lock. Noticing that the door was locked from the inside with the key in the lock, the police had knocked down the door and found five people in the house. They were Corbyn Klein, Fiato, Charles Ray Jackson, Elizabeth Jackson, Robert Mac Ivor and Utta Wick, who is Klein's carer. The premises of Corporate Group Ltd was raided and Claire Gauci Borda and Louisa Dalli were interrogated. Gauci Borda collaborated. She was ordered to attend the police inspec-tor's of- fice the next day. The investigators went through the company accounts. "What raised my concern was that… all the funds belonging to Corporate and Upstate should have been creditors, but only Eliza-beth Jackson was listed as a creditor, being owed around €500,000," Ferris said. Ferris also claimed that he was unaware as to how investigations had been leaked to the media. Ferris said Tyre Ltd was not li- cenced to carry out investment services. As secretary, Gauci Bor- da had kept no records of meet- ings, saying that the company was a charity and that there were no profits. She told investigators that Corbyn Klein had enough gold in her pos-session to pay the debts many times over, but failed to explain how the creditors had not been paid off several months afterwards. Ferris quoted Gauci Borda as saying that instructions were giv- en by Corbyn Klein even though she was not a registered officer of the company, and that she be- lieved the use of her aliases was necessary to disguise her identity and wealth. Gauci Borda told investigators the company had been granted interest-free loans from Up-state 7, and that she had never sus- pected that Corbyn Klein was capable of committing a crime. Corbyn Klein told the police that she was introduced to John Dalli through a Peter Stagno Na- varra. She said she flew to Ghana with Gauci Borda's husband to "check on some gold nuggets", and that later she met John Dalli in the Bahamas, where she transferred some five tonnes of gold under the name of 'Terry Nickel'. She said financial difficulties had pre- vented the repayment of the in- vestment, even though some 100 tonnes of gold were transferred to a bank in the Bahamas – Fer- ris said. "She always claimed that she needed multiple identities for her safety because she was always in danger of death. John Dalli had taken her passport after the trip to the Bahamas became public knowledge." Ferris also says that Dalli took Corbyn Klein to a Gozo apart- ment for four days. "She claimed to have been kidnapped with her helper Utta Wick, but she went there of her own free well." Inspector Yvonne Farrugia prosecuted. Dr Stefano Filletti and Dr Stephen Tonna Lowell ap-peared for the Dalli sisters, Dr Arthur Azzopardi appeared for Klein and other associates. PERSONS over of 55, children under the age of five and those suffering from chronic illnesses are "highly" encour- aged to take the influenza vaccine, Su- perintendent of Public Health Char- maine Gauci said. Gauci said the ministry of health was encouraging all to take the influenza vaccine, which would be available free of charge at health centres and local coun- cils from today. However, she put special emphasis on vulnerable groups who she said were more at risk: "We know from previ- ous years that the majority of people suffering from chronic ill-nesses, who contract influenza end up having to be hospitalised." Gauci also highlighted that women who were pregnant also had a higher chance of getting the virus. "It's also im- portant to note, especially for women giving birth during the influenza season, that by getting the vaccination they are also protecting their newborn, who oth- er-wise would not be able to receive the vaccination until they are six months old." She said that persons often confused the common cold with influenza. "The common cold is milder – while influ- enza includes a high fever, and tends to leave persons bedridden." On Saturday, Health Minister Chris Fearne said that 100,000 doses of the in- fluenza vaccina-tion would be available from Monday. The service will first be available to children aged five and less, people aged over 65, and people with chronic illnesses. From next week, how- ever, the vaccination will be available to all. Fearne said the cost of this exercise was €4 million, with the service being provided free of charge at health centres and local councils. He said that the vaccination was one way to decrease the chances of influen- za, adding that as a contagious disease it is given priority because of its effects on society. He said the vac-cination should be administered in October or, at the latest, in November so that the best pro- tection is afforded when influenza is at its peak. Last year, there were 162 cases of in- fluenza per 1,000 persons, with the peak being regis-tered between 7-13 January. Monitoring for influenza started on 29 September, with 6.552 cases per 1,000 persons reg-istered. Between October 2018 and May 2019, some 9,690 patients were examined for respiratory issues, with 642 resulting positive to influenza A H1Ni; 448 for Influenza H3 and three for Influenza B. Vaccination is available between 8am and 1pm between Monday and Friday, and from 8am to noon on Saturdays. The Mosta, Floriana and Paola health centres will also be open between 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Ponzi fraudster charges with money laundering alongside Dalli daughters Free influenza vaccine available from today John Dalli