Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1520358
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 MAY 2024 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Brian Tonna and Karl Cini, are to be charged together with their firm Nexia BT with know- ingly assisting Muscat to accept bribes. The court is being asked to im- pose a freezing order to the tune of €30 million apiece on Muscat, Mizzi and Schembri. A freezing order of the same amount is be- ing imposed on former Progress Press managing director Adrian Hillman and businessman Pierre Sladden, who are also being charged with money laundering. Tonna and Cini are facing freezing orders for €20 million each. An equally massive order was requested against Nexia BT. These are among the largest freezing orders ever requested by Maltese prosecutors. Auditors, secretaries charged Lawyer David Joseph Meli, in his own capacity and as legal representative of Steward Mal- ta Management Ltd is accused of corrupting public officials, namely Muscat, Schembri and Mizzi. Steward's IT manager Clarence John Conger-Thompson and its auditor, Christopher Spiteri, are also to face bribery-related charges. Spiteri alone is further accused of acting with grave dishonesty in while carrying out the profes- sional activity of auditor or ac- countant, as well as with making false declarations to a public au- thority, breaching professional secrecy and omitting or making false tax declarations for Paki- stani entrepreneur Shaukat Ali Chaudhry and members of his family. He is also accused of per- juring himself before the magis- terial inquiry. Spiteri in his personal capacity as well as that of auditor, togeth- er with Jonathan Vella, medical equipment supplier Ivan Vas- sallo and his business partner Mario Victor Gatt in their per- sonal capacities as well as in rep- resentation of Technoline Ltd and Eurybates Ltd are accused of false accounting. Spiteri is also accused, in his personal capacity as well as that of auditor, together with Jon- athan Bondin, David Meli, as representatives of MTrace p.l.c. and Gateway Solutions Ltd, with knowingly making false declara- tions to a public authority to ob- tain an illicit advantage. A freezing order of €30 mil- lion each was requested against Christopher Spiteri and Jona- than Vella. A €32 million freez- ing order was requested for Da- vid Meli. Other freezing orders have been filed against Ivan Vassallo (€11 million), Mario Victor Gatt (€7 million), Brian Bondin (€12 million) and Conger-Thompson (1 million). Freezing orders of the same amount were request- ed against their companies. Should guilt be found, besides any sentence, the court is re- quested to order the confisca- tion of all assets up to those val- ues and to order the perpetual interdiction of the defendants. Lawyers Francesco Refalo, Re- bekah Spiteri and Shelby Aquili- na are prosecuting on behalf of the Attorney General, assisting police Inspectors Wayne Rod- ney Borg and Hubert Cini. Magistrate Rachel Montebello has been assigned to the cases. Police issued the criminal charges in connection to the Vi- tals Global Healthcare inquiry on Monday. It is understood that the persons charged will be arraigned by summons and not under arrest. Meanwhile, a separate list of lesser charges was filed against Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne, Central Bank Governor Edward Scicluna, past and pres- ent permanent secretaries, law- yers, advisors and former heads of government entities. Fearne and Scicluna are to be charged with defrauding the government through deceit by painting a false picture of things. They are also being charged with misappropriation of funds. Similar charges were filed against former finance perma- nent secretary Alfred Camilleri and former health ministry per- manent secretary Joseph Rapa, and the permanent secretary in the Economy Ministry Ronald Mizzi. Other charges were issued against Kenneth Deguara, Kevin Deguara, Jean Carl Farrugia from DF Advocates, lawyers Aron Mifsud Bonnici and Robert Borg, Deborah Anne Chappell, Bradley Gatt, James Camenzuli and Manuel Castagna of Nexia BT. The magisterial inquiry Magistrate Gabriella Vella, who was investigating the sale of three public hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare, concluded her report and passed it on to the Attorney General last week. The inquiry was initiated in 2019 on Repubblika's initiative. Joseph Muscat had tried to re- move the magistrate from the inquiry, insisting she had a con- flict because her relatives were publicly critical of him. He also complained of constant leaks from the inquiry and decried the magistrate's refusal to let him testify before her. In January 2022, as part of the inquiry, police officers searched Muscat's Burmarrad home and seized several electronic devices. Muscat told reporters on Tues- day that he had no doubt he will be charged as he adopted a defiant tone. He insisted he did nothing wrong and would fight the charges tooth and nail. FORMER Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has called the charges filed against him as "completely made up". "If they weren't so se- rious, the charges issued against me would be fun- ny," Muscat said on his personal Facebook page. His reaction comes after it was reported that he, together with others in- cluding Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, will be charged with money laun- dering, fraud and making fraudulent gain, as well as conspiracy to commit an offence punishable by im- prisonment for more than four years and participat- ing in a criminal organi- sation with more than ten members. "Without hearing me out, the authorities decided to accuse me with corruption, money laundering, that I created a criminal organi- sation and that I pocketed €30 million," he said. The former Labour lead- er said they were trumped up charges which are only believed by those who in- vented them "like Egrant". "I have to say I will rel- ish disproving the charg- es, and show how they are based on not only fanta- sies, but also lies," he said. Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) Muscat: 'I will enjoy disproving fantastical allegations' Fearne, Scicluna charged with defrauding government through deceit Brian Tonna Karl Cini Pierre Sladden Adrian Hillman Christopher Spiteri