Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1522769
3 maltatoday | THURSDAY • 19 JUNE 2024 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS magius@mediatoday.com.mt ROGER Agius, one of the five men facing charges of organising a social benefits fraud racket, has applied for whistleblower status and expressed willingness to tes- tify in ongoing police investiga- tions, a court was told today. This emerged on Tuesday as the compilation of evidence against medical doctor and for- mer Labour MP Silvio Grixti and his alleged co-conspirators: Rog- er Agius, Emmanuel Spagnol, Dustin Caruana, and Luke Saliba continued before magistrate Ra- chel Montebello. The men stand charged with offences relating to fraud and organised crime, in connec- tion with a fraudulent scheme which allowed beneficiaries, hailing mostly from Labour Par- ty strongholds, to fraudulently receive monthly social benefit payments for severe disabilities which they did not suffer from in reality. At the end of today's sitting, af- ter three police officers and two civilian officers finished testify- ing about technical aspects of the investigation, Agius' lawyer, Ja- son Azzopardi, asked the court to grant his client permission to testify in the proceedings. Azzopardi informed the court that his client had written to the Whistleblower Unit at the Office of the Prime Minister and formally requested whistle- blower status. "He basically al- leged certain things about Mark Calleja l-Gulija…," said the law- yer. Being one of the defendants, Agius cannot testify without the permission of the court. In a previous sitting, Azzopar- di had described Calleja, em- ployed on a "person of trust" basis at the Social Welfare Min- istry, having ordered several reconsiderations of failed ap- plications for severe disability benefits. The court directed Azzopardi to make his request by means of a court application and not verbally. The case will continue next month. Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta represented Agi- us. Michael Schriha represented Caruana and Spagnol. Franco Debono and Arthur Azzopardi represented Grixti. Saliba was represented by Jose Herrera and Matthew Xuereb. Police Inspectors Wayne Borg, Andy Rotin and Shaun Friggie- ri are prosecuting, assisted by lawyers Abigail Caruana Vella, Charmaine Abdilla from the Office of the Attorney General. Silvio Grixti entering the court building (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) Two LESA officials have been hospitalised after crashing their car in Vjal Santa Lucija, Paola on Tuesday. The police said the accident happened at around 2:30pm, after the driver lost control of the vehicle and smashed into road side barriers. The involved persons' identity is not yet known to the police, and their condition is not yet known. A medical team and CPD officials were called to the site of the accident, according to the police spokesperson (Photos: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) Accused seeks whistleblower protection LESA officials hospitalised in Paola traffic accident