Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/561386
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 26 AUGUST 2015 7 News Court freezes assets of company allegedly involved in $100 million fraud The Malta-based company is denying charges of being involved in a scheme which saw traders and hackers make $100 million of illicit profits over five years MATTHEW AGIUS THE Maltese courts have issued both investigation and attach- ment orders against Exante, a company which is being investi- gated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over a $100 million fraud scheme. As a result of the orders, which are part of the local anti-money laundering legal framework, the assets of the company are to re- main frozen pending an investi- gation. The news emerged yesterday during a sitting in the case filed by Exante against Bank of Val- letta, in which the company is claiming the bank had acted illegally when it froze access to the company's client accounts. However lawyers for the Mal- tese bank are arguing that on August 18, the Maltese courts had issued investigation and at- tachment orders which obliged them to freeze the company's assets. Earlier this month, the US Securities and Exchange Com- mission (SEC) announced fraud charges against 32 defendants it accused of taking part in a scheme to profit from stolen information about corporate earnings announcements. The Malta-based company is alleged to be among the com- panies involved in the scheme which saw traders and hackers make as much as $100 million in illegal profits over five years by conspiring to use information stolen from thousands of cor- porate press statements before their public release. SEC described Exante as a Malta-based hedge fund, but the company yesterday denied that it is a hedge fund and claimed that the charges led to inaccu- rate headlines in the media. The company is owned by Lartemisis Holdings Ltd which shares the same address as Ex- ante at Portomaso Tower in St Julian's. Three of the company's five directors have Maltese ad- dresses. Bruno Cakans and Gatis Egli- tis live in St Julian's while Alex- ey Kirienko has a Sliema ad- dress. The two other directors; Anatoli Knyazev and Vladimir Masliakov live in Moscow, Rus- sia. The company is denying any involvement, saying it is not even a hedge fund, but a broker. In a statement issued earlier this month, Exante said it played no part in the $100 million fraud uncovered by the FBI and the SEC. "Exante is a broker and pro- vides direct market access (DMA) to most markets in the world. Contrary to the claims made in the complaint and sub- sequently in the media, Exante is not, and has never been, a hedge fund, and Exante has nev- er traded US stocks for its own account," the company said. Replying to the SEC complaint, Exante said that it "simply ex- ecutes trades ordered by and for the account of its customers" and not by or for Exante itself. Exante insisted that it is una- ware of any contact or affiliation by the company or its directors, owners, or employees with any of the hackers or defendants named in the SEC complaint or with any of the defendants named in the related criminal proceeding. Yesterday, Ms Justice Lorraine Schembri Orland was told that BOV had frozen the accounts prior to the order. The defend- ant bank, however, explained that as soon as money launder- ing is suspected, banks have five days to file a report and during which time all transactions re- quested by the client could not be actioned. The judge deferred the case for judgment. The Malta-based company Exante is among 32 defendants charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission Thief spends hold-up cash in casino MATTHEW AGIUS AN Italian man of Cuban de- scent, who admitted committing a hold-up at a Paceville station- ery at knife point on Saturday, was yesterday remanded in cus- tody pending sentencing. Eliseo Carrillo Montoro, who holds an Italian identity card, was accused of the theft of €2,515 from Eros Stationery in Paceville, a crime aggravated by violence and the value of the items stolen. Inspector Fabian Fleri told magistrate Neville Camilleri that the robber had threatened shop owner John Attard Kingswell at knife point, before making off with the money, adding that the takings were most likely spent later that night at the casino. Montoro entered a guilty plea with the assistance of a transla- tor. Magistrate Charmaine Galea ordered the accused be remand- ed in custody pending his sen- tencing on August 28. Legal aid law yer Simon Mi- callef Stafrace appeared for the accused. Inspectors Fabian Fleri and Carol Fabri prosecuted. The prosecution said that the accused spent the stolen money at a casino Qormi man indicted for aggravated drug possession, dangerous driving 42-year-old Pierre Cremona stands charged with the possession of 400g of cannabis, dangerous driving and causing damage to a police vehicle MAT THEW AGIUS A court has ruled that there are sufficient grounds for a Qormi man accused of aggravated drug possession and dangerous driv- ing, to be placed under a bill of indictment. Inspector Gabriel Micallef took to the witness stand yesterday in the compilation of evidence against 42-year-old Pierre Cre- mona, who stands charged with the possession of 400g of canna- bis, dangerous driving and caus- ing damage to a police vehicle. The police inspector told the court that he had received infor- mation on a possible drug deal, which was due to take place in Gharghur, in August, and had detailed officers to stake out the planned location outside a burg- er franchise. Noticing the presence of the po- lice, Cremona had tried to drive away in reverse gear, requiring the police car to ram Cremona's vehicle against a wall, blocking his escape. A brown paper bag containing the drug was found on the front passenger seat, said the policeman. Cremona gave a statement but did not answer the questions about the drug, he added. Cremona, who had been the target of a bomb placed out- side his boat shack in Armier in 2013, is also the accused in another pending drugs case. He told the court that his ID card was already deposited in court and that he did not have a pass- port for the purpose of bail. Law yer Veronique Dalli con- firmed that the accused 's ID card and passport had been de- posited in the acts of the other case. The defence did not con- test the existence of prima facie grounds for the accused to be placed under a bill of indictment and the court issued a decree in this respect. Magistrate Neville Camilleri granted the accused bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a per- sonal guarantee of €10,000, also ordering him to sign a bail book three times a week and observe a curfew. Law yers Veronique Dalli, Franco Debono and Dean Hili appeared for the accused. Among others, 42-year-old Pierre Cremona, stands charged with the possession of 400g of cannabis