Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/878567
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 2017 6 News MATTHEW AGIUS Mystery still shrouds the ab- sconding of Anika De Vilera, a Croatian fraudster whose husband accuses her of abducting their daughter to flee Malta, despite a court injunction and a criminal investigation. The 35-year-old, real name Ani- ka Sljokavica, inexplicably slipped past border control late last De- cember, despite Malta's family court provisionally upholding a warrant of prohibitory injunction, stopping her from taking the child abroad. Husband Andreas Wil Gerdes, a German entrepreneur, has said their one-year-old daughter Au- relia, who suffers from congenital hydrocephalus, requires constant supervision and proximity to a Malta-based medical team. De Vilera is no stranger to the news, hitting the headlines in De- cember 2016 when a Maltese court ordered her to pay over €80,000 to one of her many creditors. At least 11 other people have filed fraud reports about her to the Maltese police, starting in 2015. Her victims range from catering suppliers, to shipping, childcare and property rental companies. On the internet, the website ani- kadevilera.com even details De Vil- era's history of fraud in a number of countries, together with a psychiat- ric history of the mother of two. The website claims the woman's history of fraud stretches back 12 years. In April 2017, De Vilera hit the headlines again for allegedly en- ticing a 65-year-old Serbian wom- an to Malta to work as a nanny. The woman claims De Vilera 'en- slaved' her at her Sliema home. A German psychiatrist had al- ready diagnosed De Vilera in 2008 with histrionic personality disorder with anti-social and par- anoid tendencies, citing a "pro- found pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships with the tendency to theatrical and fraudulent behaviour." Her victims reported a similar pattern of behaviour: De Vilera would convince them to give her money for a believable, though false, enterprise, gaining their trust by initially paying on time. Sooner or later the payments would stop and be replaced by a string of ex- cuses, and finally, silence. A former boyfriend also filed a criminal complaint with the Malta fraud squad in October 2016. Af- ter the relationship ended, he said, she followed him to the Czech Republic with a story about her new boyfriend's plans to evict her from her Maltese home and her inability to afford sending her son to school. The story subsequently turned out to be false. His lawyer Joseph Mizzi wrote to the fraud squad in October 2016 saying that De Vilera entered in- to a loan agreement with a local company for €28,200 in order to pay outstanding tax to Croatia – this was primarily granted on the basis of the good relationship be- tween her boyfriend and the own- er of the company. The date of repayment passed without any payment being made. The company later learned that the Croatian tax department had not received a cent. In December Mizzi again wrote to Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar, asking that De Vilera be arrested upon her return to Malta from Portugal. His email had been preceded some weeks before with a warning that De Vilera was planning to ab- scond from Malta for good. JAMES DEBONO EXCAVATIONS to make way for a mega underground car park for the Villa Rosa project will lead "to the obliteration of the still existent natural valley", the Environment and Resources Authority said in its final report on the Garnet Invest- ments project. The project, proposed by develop- er Anton Camilleri, would see the demolition of the Moynihan and Dolphin houses, to erect residential and commercial facilities in parts of the garden, a car park, a low-rise hotel at Cresta Quay, as well as the restoration of the historical Villa Rosa. The car park would have a total gross floor area of 40,500 sq.m and extend beneath the whole devel- opment. This car park is expected to accommodate up to 1,543 cars. 125,697 cubic metres of rock will be excavated. In its assessment of an Environ- ment Planning Statement submit- ted two years ago, the ERA made it clear it was objecting to the excava- tion of the valley bed, pointing out that the inner part of the valley was still clearly visible on site and worth preserving in its integrity, integrat- ing it within the low density devel- opment proposed in this zone. The Environment Planning State- ment (EPS) concluded that the pro- posed development is not expected to have an impact on the structural integrity of the Villa Rosa and Għar Ħarq Ħammiem given that the use of chainsaws is being proposed for excavation. ERA is also calling on the develop- ers to downscale the project, which would have a highly significant ad- verse impact on the landscape, by "obscuring a prominent and pictur- esque landmark (Villa Rosa) from certain viewpoints". While noting that air quality stud- ies indicate that emissions from increased traffic will not exceed legal limits, ERA also expressed its concern on a daily increase of 2,000 vehicles passing from Trig Santu Wistin and of 850 vehicles passing from Xatt ta' San Gorg, noting that this should be seen in light of other projects in the same area. The project will be adjacent to the City Centre development proposed by DB Group. In its assessment of both the Villa Rosa and City Centre projects, the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage has called for a ge- ophysical report to assess the impact on the Wied Harq Hammiem cave. The project also involves the complete demolition of Moyni- han House, currently proposed for scheduling both by MEPA and in the EPS cultural heritage assessment as a Grade 2 building (designation does not rule out the demolition/replace- ment completely. ERA concluded that for this reason the impact of the proposed development on Moyni- han House site "would be of high significance." On its part the Super- intendence has called for a survey of Moynihan House. In its report ERA noted that it would make more sense to assess the project as part of the Pace- ville Masterplan rather than in isolation of surrounding develop- ments, thus ensuring a more ho- listic assessment. The Paceville masterplan had excluded high rise development in the vicinity of Villa Rosa but had proposed a 30 storey tower in the Cresta Quay which is presently earmarked for a low rise hotel. The neighbour- ing City Centre development is also being assessed independently of the Paceville Master Plan which was put on the backburner before the general election. The PA is presently conducted a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) on the proposed plan. ERA objects to 'obliteration' of Villa Rosa valley bed TENDER FOR THE PROVISION OF SECURITY SERVICES The Broadcasting Authority notifies that electronic tenders in respect of the Provision of Security Services at the Għargħur Transmitting Station (Ref: MJCL/MPU/22/2017) will be received by not later than: 09:30 on Tuesday 10 th October 2017 Tenders are to be submitted online ONLY on http://etenders.gov.mt BROADCASTING AUTHORITY www.ba-malta.org Email: info.ba@ba.org.mt Photo of the proposed Villa Rosa project, on which the ERA based its report. A leaked design published earlier this year presented a high-rise proposal Inaction over fraudster's absconding leaves husband frustrated Andreas Wil Gerdes has accused his wife Anika De Vilera of abducting their daughter and fleeing Malta