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2 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 3 MAY 2017 News Inquiring magistrate awaiting verifications from foreign banks on a number of Maltese individuals PAUL COCKS THE inquiry led by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja into allegations linking Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's wife Michelle to the se- cret Panama company Egrant is slated to take a long time to con- clude, as the magistrate appears to have expanded his net in his investigations. MaltaToday has learned that Magistrate Bugeja last week sent letters of request ('ittri rogatorji' in Maltese) to the Attorneys Gen- eral in a number of countries, asking them to verify if certain Maltese individuals own accounts in those countries and to provide statements for any such accounts. The magistrate is leading an in- quiry into allegations first raised by blogger and The Malta Inde- pendent columnist Daphne Caru- ana Galizia, who published guar- antees of trust allegedly showing Michelle Muscat owning shares and being the ultimate beneficial shareholder in Egrant. The company was opened in Panama in 2013 at the same time as two other companies were revealed in the Panama Papers scandal to have been opened by the prime minister's chief of staff, Keith Schembri, and Minister Konrad Mizzi. Opposition leader Simon Busut- til then claimed to have evidence which showed that Schembri was receiving kickbacks from the sale of Maltese citizenship in the In- dividual Investor Programme scheme. He said that he had proof that three Russian individuals paid a total of €166,831.90 into a Pilatus Bank account owned by Nexia BT managing partner Brian Tonna, under the name of Willerby Trade Inc. Busuttil claimed that Tonna then transferred two payments of €50,000 each to a Pilatus Bank account owned by Schembri, who shrugged it off as Tonna repaying a personal loan he had advanced him in 2012. Busuttil went on to present his proof and testimony before magistrate Bugeja. A Russian woman, turned whistleblower, testified before the magistrate to the effect that when she was employed at Pilatus Bank as personal assistant to the chair- man, she had seen documents list- ing Muscat as owning shares in Egrant, in a safe at the bank. Informed sources told MaltaTo- day that the number of letters of request sent were "substantial" and that it was unclear if the mag- istrate had – as yet – received any feedback from the countries con- tacted. MaltaToday confirmed with a leading lawyer that an inquiring magistrate has the authority to re- quest data from other countries if he feels this could be crucial to the outcome of his investigations. In such cases, the magistrate does not communicate directly with banks or financial insti- tutions in other countries, but instead channels his request through the respective country's attorney general, or similar office. This is a very lengthy process as most countries would normally check to confirm the veracity of the request and the body asking for the data. Once confirmed, the AGs would then pass on the request to the banks and other fi- nancial institutions in their juris- dictions. These too would probably spend time to verify the request before proceeding to gather any relevant data, if available. This lengthy process makes it highly unlikely that the inquiry will be concluded quickly, or that the magistrate will be in a posi- tion to present his findings before the 3 June general election, raising further questions as to possible outcomes. Hunter pleads guilty to shooting protected bird species MATTHEW AGIUS A man has pleaded guilty after he was arrested on Monday while hunting a protected species of bird during the closed season, with an il- legal shotgun. Mark Buhagiar, 38, of Rabat, was arraigned before magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit yesterday morn- ing. Police inspector Colin Sheldon accused the man of shooting a tur- tle dove in the Nigret area of Rabat, during the closed season, in breach of his hunting licence, and using an illegal decoy. Buhagiar was also charged with hunting by means of a semi-auto- matic shotgun which had a maga- zine that could hold more than two rounds, openly carrying a firearm in the closed hunting season, failing to abide by the conditions of his fire- arms licence and handling a stolen shotgun. The man had been apprehended yesterday after police received an anonymous telephone call inform- ing them that shots had been heard in the area of Santa Katerina, in Rabat, during the closed hunting seas BirdLife Malta members in the area had shown the police video of the hunter shooting at turtle doves whilst using another live turtle dove as a decoy. The footage also showed the hunter picking up a turtle dove from the ground. The hunter was arrested and the live turtle dove was later released. Buhagiar pleaded guilty and was handed a fine of €2,000, payable over two years. His hunting licence was also suspended for two years. For handling the stolen item, in this case the shotgun, the accused was conditionally discharged for six months. The court also ordered the con- fiscation of all his hunting-related equipment. BirdLife Malta members in the area had shown the police video of the hunter shooting at turtle doves whilst using another live turtle dove as a decoy Former magistrate and PN MP Joseph Cassar passes away MATTHEW AGIUS RETIRED magistrate and former PN MP Joseph Cassar has passed away yesterday. He was 70 years old. Born in Tarxien, Cassar studied at the Lyceum before graduating as a lawyer from the University of Malta in 1970. Cassar was a candidate for the Nationalist Party in 1971, being elected for the first time in 1981. As an MP he served as spokesman for housing between 1981 and 1987 and was appointed parliamentary secretary for housing between 1987 and 1992 and for human resources between 1992 and 1996. Cassar had clashed with the Gonzi administration in 2011, ac- cusing it of not respecting the will of the people, when a number of MPs voted against the introduction of divorce, following a referendum on the issue. Former magistrate and PN MP Joseph Cassar passed away, aged 70 Assault on bus driver was not self defence, prosecution argues MATTHEW AGIUS TWO police inspectors have told a court how CCTV footage of a man accused of assaulting a bus driver showed that the man had not been defending him- self, as he had claimed. The case against Omar Joseph Trabelsi, 29, from Kirkop, who stands accused of attempting to grievously injure the driver in the 16 April assault, continued yesterday before magistrate Joe Mifsud. The bus driver suffered slight injuries in the assault, which re- portedly took place a few hours after he had pointed out that Trabelsi was trying to use an expired bus ticket – something Trabelsi is reported to have done on several previous occa- sions. Prosecuting police inspectors Jeffrey Scicluna and Priscilla Caruana Lee testified. Inspector Scicluna explained that the report of a fight at the Valletta bus terminus had come in on Good Friday, whilst the police were conducting a pa- trol during a Good Friday pro- cession. At the scene, officers found the bus driver bleeding profusely from a head wound. There was so much blood, the inspector said, that for an in- stant he thought the man was an actor or participant in the Good Friday procession. The description of the assail- ant – who has a very particular haircut – given by the driver caused the inspector to instant- ly suspect Trabelsi, he said, as the man was known to the po- lice. Officers had staked out the bus terminus, as the accused was known to hang around the area but he didn't show up. Later inspector Scicluna had phoned the man and gave him an appointment at the police station, which Trabelsi missed. Instructions to arrest the man if he went to the police station were issued and the man was detained when he eventually turned up there. Later that day, the inspector said, police radio chatter indi- cated that Trabelsi had escaped from custody and was being chased through the streets of Valletta. He was later arrested near the Auberge de Castille, he said. During questioning, Trabelsi had insisted that he had hit the driver in self defence and had encouraged the police to see the CCTV footage of the fight. "It emerged that it was not a case of self defence but that Mr Tra- belsi had attacked the driver." The prosecution exhibited evidence of a previous criminal conviction, CCTV footage from nearby food vendors, as well as from inside the bus itself, to- gether with medical evidence. The court appointed Dr Martin Bajada to extract still images from the film. Inspector Priscilla Caruana Lee also took to the witness stand, confirming her col- league's account of events. The men had argued on 14 April, two days before the attack when Trabelsi had not been allowed to board the bus. CCTV showed the accused boarding the bus and arguing with the victim. Another camera showed the victim throwing a piece of pa- per at the accused, she said, and then "a split second later," the attack took place. Law yer Yanika Camilleri cross examined, asking whether the police had exhibited footage showing what she said was the driver provoking the accused on the 14th. The inspector re- plied that she had exhibited footage of that date. A fresh request for bail was denied by the magistrate. "The age of cowboys is over. Every- one who is doing his job, be it a policeman or a bus driver, must be protected," the magistrate said The case continues.