Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1481871
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 OCTOBER 2022 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA A United States district court in Delaware has authorised a delegate from the Office of the US Attorney, to serve subpoe- nas as required in a request by Maltese police investigating Yorgen Fenech's alleged bid to purchase firearms on the dark web using cryptocurrency. The Maltese request has tar- geted lawyer Aron Mifsud Bonnici, a lawyer whose ser- vices were availed by Fenech to transfer an amount of Bit- coin to a wallet controlled by Fenech, for the purchase of weapons. The decision by the American court authorises the US attor- ney to collect the evidence re- quested by the Maltese police, if necessary with the force of FBI officers. Malta issued a request for information from the United States back in September 2021, as part of a magisterial inquiry conducted by Magistrate Na- dine Lia into Fenech, over the unlawful acquisition of fire- arms on the "Dark Web" using Bitcoin. Details in an application by the United States Office of International Affairs, filed 12 months after the request – 21 September 2022 – seeks ev- idence from cryptocurrency exchanges Poloniex and Coin- base. "As Malta's Office of the At- torney General stated in the Request, the Maltese police are investigating the unlawful acquisition of firearms by Yor- gen Fenech, via the dark web, on or about December 13, 2017 and November 25, 2018, in vi- olation of the criminal law of Malta... "… According to authorities in Malta, on November 25, 2018, Fenech inquired into the purchase of a Glock firearm and a Scorpion CZ automat- ic rifle for 0.9 Bitcoin. On the same day, another individu- al, Aron Mifsud Bonnici, sent from his accounts at Coin- base and Poloniex 1 Bitcoin to Fenech, 0.9 Bitcoin of which Fenech then used for the weap- ons purchase. "One of the transactions that Mifsud Bonnici made that day to Fenech was in the amount of 0.46221 Bitcoin from his Coin- base account to wallet address [xxx]. Moreover, on December 13, 2017, Mifsud Bonnici made a transaction of 1.3999 Bitcoin from his Poloniex platform ac- count to BTC wallet [xxx]." The Maltese authorities said they are requesting pertinent business records from Coin- base and Poloniex for both Mifsud Bonnici and Fenech. Poloniex and Coinbase are both Delaware corporations. Fenech was arrested in No- vember 2019 while trying to leave Malta on his yacht and is indicted for complicity and conspiracy in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed in a car bombing near her home in 2017. He is currently in custo- dy awaiting trial. Mifsud Bonnici has denied being the subject of an investi- gation. "In August and Septem- ber 2021, I assisted the Malta Police in an open investigation regarding Mr Yorgen Fenech. I was subsequently asked by the Police to help further by giving evidence, once Mr Fenech was charged with the attempted importation of a firearm from the dark web. Given the ongo- ing investigation, the case was heard behind closed doors, and I have thus refrained from making any public comment in regard thereto until today. "The Police confirmed that there is no suggestion of wrongdoing in my regard. I ask that you verify this directly with the Police." A source connected to the probe told MaltaToday that the related investigations are still ongoing. Mifsud Bonnici runs his own law firm. He previously en- joyed the trust of Labour Party leadership. Apart from acting as legal counsel to the General Workers Union, his father was also a party candidate and dep- uty mayor of San Gwann. During the first Muscat ad- ministration, Mifsud Bonni- ci had represented embattled minister Konrad Mizzi, when his name emerged in the Pana- ma Papers, in various litigation cases. Afterwards, the three partners of Mifsud Bonnici Advocates all found themselves occupying various posts in public compa- nies, mostly falling under Miz- zi's political remit when he was appointed tourism minister in 2017 in the second Muscat ad- ministration. At that point Mifsud Bonnici was acting as board secretary of at least nine public entities, among them Enemalta plc and Engineering Resources, and billing company ARMS, as well as Projects Malta and Projects Plus. mvella@mediatoday.com.mt US subpoenas get green light in Malta probe on Fenech 'Dark Web' purchase Malta issued a request for information from the United States back in September 2021, as part of a magisterial inquiry conducted by Magistrate Nadine Lia into Yorgen Fenech, over the unlawful acquisition of firearms on the "Dark Web" using Bitcoin