Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1372546
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 MAY 2021 NEWS daring heists: what connects them? He again denied the allega- tions. "In the past weeks, not on- ly have I strongly denied these false allegations which I believe are the result of a conspiracy between PN Member of Parlia- ment Jason Azzopardi and crim- inals who want to get away with murder, but I have also institut- ed libel proceedings," he said referring to the MP's allegations against him. Azzopardi was the first to moot that a sitting Labour min- ister was implicated in a major crime, before taking the matter recently in a Facebook post that left nothing to the imagination. "I believe that the police are obliged to investigate allega- tions, which are being made over ten years after the men- tioned case, at a moment when criminals started lobbying for a presidential pardon. However, I also expect the politician making these allegations to assume re- sponsibility and resign, evident that he has been pushing fabri- cated lies. "It stands to reason that I wel- come any type of investigation into the allegations made by Az- zopardi and his criminal friends. Therefore, as you rightly pointed out in reference to my reply to the police's request, I have abso- lutely no difficulty with the po- lice's access to my deposition." Testimony behind closed doors Abela had testified in Febru- ary 2011 behind closed doors. The deposition seen by this newspaper shows that Abela had confirmed under oath that he sometimes used the security equipment that produced the electronic access cards, known as Cotag cards, used by bank employees. However, when confronted by the media with his own testimo- ny last week, Abela insisted he could not recall testifying in the compilation of evidence. Previ- ously, on TVM's Xtra, Abela said the police had never interrogat- ed him on the heist and did not know the criminals involved in the crime. Abela, however, failed to flag that he had testified as a witness during the compilation of evidence. Police investigating the heist were always convinced that the thieves had someone on the in- side of the bank, who provided them with access cards and vid- eo footage of the route they had to take to reach the cash centre. In a request for a presiden- tial pardon that was eventually turned down, Alfred Degiorgio claimed that he has "direct" in- formation on "a sitting minister" who was an accomplice in the 2010 failed heist. Muscat also re- counted to police what Degior- gio had told him. They did not name Abela but lawyer Jason Azzopardi claimed in a Facebook post that the alle- gations concerned the minister and that he had been promised €300,000 for providing inside in- formation. Muscat was jailed for 15 years in February after admitting to the murder of Caruana Galizia in a plea bargain agreement that has seen him turn State's evi- dence. Muscat was also granted a pres- idential pardon for his involve- ment in the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop. Information he provided led to three other men – brothers Adrian and Rob- ert Agius, known as Tal-Maksar, and Jamie Vella – being arrested and charged with involvement in the murders of Chircop and Caruana Galizia. A second request for pardon on the HSBC heist filed by Muscat was turned down by Cabinet. Cabinet also turned down a request for pardon filed by Al- fred Degiorgio and his brother George, in a session that Abela recused himself from. ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt up of a G4 cash van in Birżeb- buġa in 2000 had uncovered a conversation between Gatt, then a police inspector, and one of the men involved in the crime. Eventually, Gatt won a court case for unfair dismissal and the State was ordered to reinstate him in the police force. He never re-joined the force. Gatt had since become a law- yer and for some time practiced from a legal office belonging to former minister Chris Cardona. Daphne Caruana Galizia hit- men Vince Muscat and Alfred Degiorgio have implicated a for- mer minister in the failed HSBC heist of 2010 and the journalist's murder. Muscat has testified in court that he used to take Degiorgio to see Cardona at the ministry. Muscat also claimed that he had once driven George Degiorgio to Portomaso for a meeting with Cardona to discuss an alleged hit on Caruana Galizia in 2015 that was later abandoned. Cardona has described the claims as "pure evil fiction". The €1m heist: HSBC Balzan branch 30 November 2007 Five, hooded and armed men entered the HSBC Bank branch in Balzan at 12:40pm at a time when it was receiving euro notes in preparation of Malta's adop- tion of the single currency in January 2008. The thieves made off with €1 million. In a carefully planned heist, the thieves used a van to block off the main street leading into the square and left in a getaway car that was later found abandoned in Fleur-de-Lys. The €2.8m bulldozer failure: Cash van 4 January 2010 At 9:30am, thieves used a van and a pickup to sandwich a cash van belonging to Security Ser- vice Malta Ltd in Santa Venera. The cash van was transporting about €2.8 million to the HSBC cash centre in Qormi. The thieves then used a bull- dozer to try and crash open the door of the cash van but were unsuccessful. The security per- sonnel inside the bullet-proof van were unharmed despite several shots fired towards the vehicle. The ambush was unsuccessful and the thieves left the scene empty-handed. The audacious heist: HSBC HQ cash centre 30 June 2010 At 7:45pm, three armed crimi- nals used electronic access cards to get to the control centre where they over-powered the security guard, an employee of Security Service Malta Ltd, and a police officer on duty. At the time, employees at the cash cen- tre would be finalising the cash desposits for the day. However, the hold-up failed when police on patrol noticed the waiting getaway car and gave chase. Eventually, the armed robbers walked back out and a shoot-out with police ensued. Police arrested Darren Debono, known as it-Topo, Vince Mus- cat, known as il-Koħħu, and Fabio Psaila after they sought medical treatment for Debono at a private clinic. Debono had been shot in the jaw during the shootout with the police. All three are awaiting trial. Gold rush turns bloody: Gold Market owners 3 December 2010 At around 5:15pm, three hood- ed and armed persons carried out a hold-up on Michael Mizzi and his son Silvio, the owners of Gold Market. However, as one of the thieves hit the father with a shotgun butt, the son wres- tled with one of the assailants, took his shotgun and fired at the criminals. Darren Debono, it-Topo was injured and arrested on site by police. Fabio Psaila was injured but remained on the run un- til giving himself up on Boxing Day. Psaila had multiple pellet wounds. In 2013, Debono was jailed for five years for the crime. Vince Muscat still face a trial by jury for his involvement in the 2010 HSBC heist. He has requested, and was denied, a second pardon for information on other crimes