The police are investigating Freddie Fenech, founder of the Abandoned Animals Association, after his helpers, who run the sanctuary, came forward with allegations of repeated misappropriation of funds that run into thousands of euros.

Mr Fenech has denied every accusation levelled against him and said he would take legal action to clear his name.

For years, the helpers have remained silent for fear nobody would believe them. They are alleging that whenever people gave donations directly to Mr Fenech, these were never pumped back into the sanctuary and they remained in the dark as to where the money went.

They would have remained mum had it not been for the article featured on The Times portraying Mr Fenech rescuing "starving" puppies from among the carcasses in the former lepers' hospital at Tal-Ferħa, Għargħur late last month.

The helpers felt this move, which they believed was orchestrated because the puppies looked too healthy and well fed, was the last straw and they were prepared to put their neck out and expose him.

Five helpers yesterday went to the police station in Paola to file a report accusing Mr Fenech of siphoning donations, cruelty to animals and threats. They are being offered police protection at the request of the director of the Animal Welfare Department, Mario Spiteri.

Department officers have also been dispatched to the AAA sanctuary in Luqa to keep an eye on the place.

Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said he had given clear instructions to Dr Spiteri that if there was any suspicion of abuse this had to be investigated and he had advised that all information be passed on to the police.

"We have been working hard with NGOs to push forward animal welfare on the island but we need to ensure they are responsive to transparency. They have to be accountable for the funds that sustain them," Mr Pullicino stressed.

On reading the article that appeared on March 26, Dr Spiteri was baffled at how the puppies ended up in the grounds of the former hospital when his officers had carried out a full inspection of the area just days before.

"Freddie's rescue had all the characteristics of a well planned and staged public relations stunt," Dr Spiteri said when contacted.

He insisted that the dead woolly carcass and the other skeletal remains were of a sheep and, similarly, the skulls found were certified by a qualified veterinarian to be those of sheep or goats.

"What is certain is that those puppies had not been there for long before they were 'discovered'. They looked well fed and healthy," he added.

This is not the first time Mr Fenech has been accused of failing to be accountable for donations. More than four years ago, MaltaToday had reported that Mr Fenech had no accounts to show for the €32,611 raised by Winter Moods to help him settle an outstanding water bill of €7,686.

Mr Fenech had defended himself saying he had paid the pending water bill but was in dispute with the Water Services Corporation over pending bills belonging to the person under whose name the water meter was registered.

Sources said to date the bill has not been paid.

The article had sparked such furore in Mr Fenech's defence that for years his helpers preferred not to say anything for fear nobody would believe them.

"If it weren't for Mario Spiteri, who has backed us all the way and took what we said seriously, we'd still be in the same position," two of the helpers said.

One of the helpers, who managed the sanctuary's funds, recounted how she became suspicious a while back. "He would come and take the money saying he was going to buy food or pay the rent and he never produced official receipts, no matter how many times I chased him."

When confronted with this, Mr Fenech said he was willing to produce receipts for water bills and rent. The helpers said these would be the chits produced for payments they had made with money they accounted for.

She recalled how one time a French woman had made a donation of €16,305 and Mr Fenech withdrew €465 every day. "When we confronted him with this he said he had bought food but we never saw any tangible evidence," she said.

When two of the helpers joined the sanctuary a few years ago they said they were shocked by the disastrous state the animals were in: the dogs were not neutered, they often went without food and water for two days and dogs often killed one another.

They spoke about how slowly they began to try and put things in order and, today, thanks to donations handed to them directly and through those posted to PO Box 24, Ħamrun, they neuter 60 dogs a month.

Last year alone, despite the odds, the helpers also homed 400 dogs in Germany, each one costing €250 to send there.

One helper, who has dedicated her life to the sanctuary, recounted how on one occasion Mr Fenech was touring schools with a disabled dog, which was in such a state that "you had to squeeze his bladder to help him urinate", in order to raise money for a wheelchair for the dog.

"This was outright cruelty to animals - you should have seen the dog's scabs and wounds from crawling with his belly dragging on the floor. Another time there was this Great Dane which had a malignant tumour near its testicles and he didn't want to neuter it. I had to do it secretly or the dog would have really suffered," she said.

"He also put kittens he 'rescued' among dogs. They were eaten alive. The dogs would throw them up and then eat them again. The things we saw are horrific," the helpers added.

The helpers also said that over the past months Mr Fenech was buying pure breed dogs or unwanted puppies at a low price and then selling them at a profit.

A search through his appeals on The Times in the past months shows Mr Fenech making appeals to home Shar-Pei crossbreeds, an Alaskan Malamute, two Pharaoh Hounds, four springer spaniel puppies, pug dogs and a boxer, among others.

A year ago, a reader who replied to Mr Fenech's appeal to home a pug puppy had told The Times he was shocked when Mr Fenech wanted to charge him €233. This was contested by Mr Fenech who said a man had asked him to sell the pug dogs and he had done so and given the man the money.

He insisted he never bought dogs to sell them: "I had once bought four Pharaoh Hounds out of my own pocket because I did not want them to suffer. But I have never in my life sold a dog".

He added: "I wouldn't harm an ant, let alone threaten or blackmail anybody".