Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1187474
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 NOVEMBER 2019 NEWS Loan shark used revolver to force factory owner to pay up MATTHEW AGIUS MELVIN Theuma, a known loan shark and alleged mid- dleman in the Daphne Caru- ana Galizia murder plot, had once threatened a debtor with a revolver, forcing him to sign a constitution of debt for €200,000 in his favour and that of another creditor, court documents show. This is according to testi- mony delivered in a 2010 case filed between the co-owners of the now defunct St Philip's Ca- terers Ltd, in a case brought by shareholder Antoine Camilleri against his co-shareholder Ja- son Aquilina. The judgment in that case, delivered in 2014, reveals a tangled web of debts, threats and deceit. Antoine Camilleri had told the court that he and Jason Aquilina had been business partners, but that they had fallen out and Camilleri had asked Aquilina to leave, buy- ing out his share. A price of €81,525 was agreed for Aquilina's share. Camilleri had said that Aquilina had not wanted to show the company's accountant Lawrence Aquili- na, whom he was indebted to, and that he was going to earn so much money from the deal. So a second, false, agreement was also written, showing the value as being €53,375. Camill- eri had agreed to do so and had paid the entire €81,525 in cash and cheques. Soon afterwards, Aquilina resigned as director. After this agreement had been signed, Camilleri found out that Aquilina was trying to sell a property that was se- curity for a company overdraft with HSBC. He immediately called up Aquilina and insist- ed that the share transfer take place immediately. According to the court re- cords, Melvin Theuma had gone to the St Philips Cater- ers factory to collect a €40,000 debt – together with An- toine Camilleri and Lawrence Camilleri – from Aquilina. Antoine Camilleri had asked Aquilina whether he had brought the money but Aqui- lina had replied that he didn't owe him anything. Camilleri was said to have told Aquilina that he could not work under such conditions with so many creditors chas- ing the company for debts. So Aquilina told him to pay the staff some €11,000 they were owed and that he would give up the place to his debtors. At that point panic broke out with plaintiff Antoine Camill- eri saying that he was respon- sible for the company as he was also its director. It was agreed that as Aqui- lina was guarantor for a bank loan of €200,000 on the facto- ry, Lawrence Camilleri would take €80,000 and Melvyn Theuma would take €120,000, by way of taking the factory in their hands instead of the cash. But Camilleri interjected at this point to tell them that he too was owed money as he had paid Lm50,000 for a cafe and €81,525 for all of the defend- ant's shares in the company. When Camilleri said this, Theuma allegedly pulled out a revolver and forced him, at gunpoint, to go with them to sign a constitution of debt with lawyer Matthew Brin- cat. He complied and in that private writing it was stated that Lawrence Camilleri and Melvin Theuma were owed €200,000 from the company. He handed over the keys im- mediately. Camilleri had insisted to the court that when, in the past, Theuma had loaned him €40,000, he had started follow- ing him around and threaten- ing him with weapons. On one occasion, he was taken to Notary Bartolomeo Micallef where he was forced to sign a private writing constituting himself as a debtor to Theuma for €150,000. Antoine Camilleri explained that he had then been taken to the same notary to sign an- other agreement where he ap- peared on behalf of the com- pany instead of his personal capacity, but the notary had refused. He had been taken to Theu- ma's flat in Mosta, where he was coerced into spending days there and then forced to travel to England. In the mean- time, Theuma took him to yet another lawyer and forced him to sign an agreement stating that factory tools and equip- ment could be used to settle the €120,000 that he still owed Theuma. It was around this time that he found out that Aqui- lina, Theuma and Lawrence Camilleri had cleared out his factory. Desperate, he fled to England until things calmed down. When he returned to Malta, he was advised to pro- ceed with a lawsuit, which he did. His company had ended up with no assets as the tools and equipment had all been taken by the defendant, Theuma and Camilleri and he was still faced by the company's debts, he said in his testimony. 'Middleman' in the Caruana Galizia investigation has been previously identified as a loan shark