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2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 27 AUGUST 2014 News Zebbiegh murder suspect jailed for breaching bail, keeps €15,000 deposit DANIEL MIZZI KENNETH Gafà – the man accused of murdering his former girlfriend in Zebbiegh in 2010 – has been sen- tenced to three months behind bars after admitting to breaching bail conditions for the second time in four months. In August 2012, a criminal court upheld Gafà's ninth request for bail and released him against a deposit of €15,000 and a personal guaran- tee of €25,000. Gafà is pleading not guilty to the murder of Christine Sammut, who was fatally shot in the neck and chest in Zebbiegh. The murder took place on De- cember 11, 2010, when Gafà is said to have driven his van next to Sam- mut's vehicle and shot her through the window. The murder weapon was never found. Magistrate Neville Camilleri was told that Gafà was found drinking at the Top Gun bar in Marsa after his 10pm curfew. An RIU official told the court that the accused had been drinking. In his defence, Gafà, who was represented by legal aid, told the court that he visited the bar be- cause he needed to borrow €100 for his mother's medicine. Moreover, he also claimed that he had been drinking because he was offered a whiskey. The defence's plea was however heavily disputed by the prosecution, who argued that had he successfully borrowed the money, he would not have been able to buy medicine un- til the next morning. In its decree, the court said Gafà's defence was not credible and did not hold water. The court found the man guilty of breaching his curfew, and consequently sentenced Gafà to three months in prison, and re- voked bail. However, the court did not order that the accused forfeit his deposit or personal guarantee. Inspector Chris Pullicino pros- ecuted. A 46-year-old Briton has been conditionally discharged for three years after pleading guilt y to stealing €100 by using another person's credit card. The court heard that on 9 May, at around 1:43am, the accused, John Alan Farrugia, went to the ATM in the Strand, Sliema. CCTV footage spotted him us- ing a credit card to withdraw €100 by using a card belonging to a certain Carl Peter Doft vik. The credit card had been re- ported missing earlier but Far- rugia failed to inform the police when he found it. In court, Farrugia, who was not summonsed to court by arrest, admitted to stealing the €100 and to failing to inform the po- lice of the credit card he found. Describing his actions as a "sil- ly mistake", the accused declared that he was willing to shoulder responsibilit y for his mistake. In its decree, the court noted that the man cooperated with the po- lice and that he repaid the vic- tim. Consequently, the court dis- charged him for three years and fined him €50 for failing to in- form the police of the missing credit card. Inspector Jason Francis Sul- tana prosecuted, while Magis- trate Aaron Bugeja presided. Thief caught on CCTV using missing credit card Download the MaltaToday App now CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 On 7 Au- gust, the MFSA banned director Jean Claude Bugeja from giving any financial advice and from accessing the company's records, IT systems and offices. Filed yesterday by lawyers Adrian Delia and Kris Scicluna on behalf of 14 investors, the judicial protest is claiming that despite being in- formed by the MFSA that the de- fendant company's operations have been suspended, they heard "noth- ing else since" – effectively leaving the plaintiffs in the dark about their investments. Unconfirmed reports have put the investments at €1.3 million. The plaintiffs are also claiming that the "material shortfall in their assets" was caused by the compa- ny's "negligence." "After the MFSA said the compa- ny has a material shortfall in its as- sets, it now looks that the plaintiffs suffered considerable losses due to the company's negligence, and dis- regard of its legal obligations. "Consequently, the plaintiffs are demanding that Maltese Cross Financial Services Ltd reimburse their capital and interest. They also request detailed accounts of the in- vestments made with their money," the lawyers held. The police are also investigating the disappearance of possibly mil- lions of euros invested with Maltese Cross Financial Services. The MFSA is working with the police authorities to investigate the "material shortfall" in clients' assets. The investigations will also look in- to whether the irregularities could have started prior to the setting up of the company two years ago. The MFSA recently suspended the operations of the company, and took regulatory action against Jean Claude Bugeja, 42. He was formerly the managing director of Island Fi- nancial Services, part of the Island Insurance Group. He got his licence as a financial adviser in 2004. In early 2013, the majority of the shares were sold to Bugeja, with his wife, Robert Cutajar and Stephen Spiteri each acquiring five per cent. Bugeja, Spiteri and Cutajar are di- rectors of the company. At the time of the acquisition, Island Financial's auditors, Price- waterhouseCoopers, filed abridged financial statements for the year ended December 2012 in which it reported total assets of just €198,747, down from €291,382 the year before. The audit report had no qualifications – in other words, no red flags about the soundness of this relatively small company. Spiteri and Cutajar told The Sun- day Times of Malta that they had reported irregularities in the affairs of the company to the Malta Finan- cial Services Authority, suspending all the company's activities. Spiteri and Cutajar said they also wrote to Maltese Cross's clients and offered their full cooperation to the MFSA. Investors claim investigated company lost them their investments Christine Sammut and Kenneth Gafa