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MaltaToday 12 May 2021 MIDWEEK

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4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 MAY 2021 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS RYAN Schembri, the owner of More Supermarkets, who is be- lieved to have absconded and changed his identity to escape his creditors, owed murdered lawyer Carmel Chircop €750,000, a court was told yesterday. Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo was presiding the compi- lation of evidence against brothers Adrian and Robert Agius, known as Tal-Maksar, and their associ- ates Jamie Vella and George De- giorgio this morning. Chircop was found dead with bullet wounds in a Birkirkara garage complex in 2015. They are charged in connec- tion with the murder. Several prosecution witness- es appeared today, including the person who discovered Chircop's body, as well as Chricop's landlord and notary. Property broker Peter Barthet told the court that he had intro- duced his client, Chircop, to the owners of a large warehouse in Qormi. Chircop had taken on the promise of sale together with Adrian Agius and Ryan Schembri, who had said that they needed the warehouse to supply More Super- markets. Asked by Superintendent Keith Arnaud about the viewing of the warehouse, Barthet said, "at first I thought it was for him [ Agius], but later it became clear that Ryan Schembri called the shots, you un- derstand?" Chircop was pressing Barthet over the deal after the Schembri purchase fell through. Howev- er, Chircop had backed off when Barthet had engaged a lawyer. EROM – More Supermarket's holding company – owed Chircop between €700,000 and €800,000 according to a constitution of debt entered into by the company, Barthet said. The debt was guaran- teed by the personal assets of Adri- an Agius and Ryan Schembri, but before absconding, Schembri had emptied his accounts. Not even the €250,000 deposit was recover- able, Barthet explained. Chircop had been prepared to sue the deal's guarantors for his money and had even asked Barthet if he knew a debt collector, he said. Despite the pressures, Notary Malcolm Mangion testified that Agius and Chircop were very cor- dial and jovial when the constitu- tion of debt was signed, secured by a hypothec over Agius' property. Other witnesses today included RIU officers and first responders at the scene of the murder. Notably, these included Law- rence Pace from Tarxien, who said that he had been picked up by Vin- cent Muscat and taken to Siggiewi on several occasions where he was instructed to hand over some €250 cash Muscat had given him to the driver of a small grey car. Similar exchanges took place three times, and he said before the elderly Pace grew weary of this ar- rangement and told Muscat not to take him with him anymore. The last witness to testify today was Natal Azzopardi, the owner of several garages in Birkirkara who had rented out one to a "Charles Cassar." Cassar had provided him with what subsequently turned out to be a constantly changing phone number and a false ID card number. "Cassar" would meet him near the Siggiewi petrol station to collect the rent money. An elderly man would meet him at Siggiewi, he said. On one occasion, after finding the lock removed, he had rented out the garage to third parties, he said. Murdered lawyer fronted cash for Adrian Agius, Ryan Schembri business venture Two of the accused being led out of court (Photo: James Bianchi/ MaltaToday) RECRUITMENT OF OFFICIALS within the Regional Councils CULTURAL OFFICER JOBSPLUS PERMIT NUMBER 234/2021 PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICER JOBSPLUS PERMIT NUMBER 236/2021 ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER JOBSPLUS PERMIT NUMBER 235/2021 Applications are being received by the Regional Councils for the above positions. Further details on the application and job description can be obtained by sending an email on spi.localgov@gov.mt Selected applicants will be required, inter alia, to fulfi l the responsibilities as required by the respective Regional Council as part of their ongoing support and commitment in their functions and in assisting Local Councils in the carrying out of their respective responsibilities to improve wellbeing in the community. The closing date for the applications is Monday, 31st May 2021 by 12:00hrs. FUNDS ADMINISTRATION OFFICER JOBSPLUS PERMIT NUMBER 231/2021 WASTE MANAGEMENT OFFICER JOBSPLUS PERMIT NUMBER 233/2021 ICT OFFICER JOBSPLUS PERMIT NUMBER 232/2021

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