“Suspicious” money transfers of €1.4 million triggered a probe into a close confidante of ex-minister Konrad Mizzi, Times of Malta can reveal.
Lawyer Aron Mifsud Bonnici ended up on the authorities’ radar after carrying out a series of large transfers to XNT Limited, a Malta-based investment firm.
The transfers, the bulk of which started in the summer of 2020, raised tax evasion and money-laundering suspicions, as they appeared to exceed the lawyer’s expected wealth.
Further red flags were raised due to Mifsud Bonnici’s previous involvement in numerous government entities, as well as his close ties with Mizzi, who resigned in November 2019 under a cloud of corruption.
A deeper dive into Mifsud Bonnici’s local bank accounts led the authorities to flag notable differences between his declared income and the hundreds of thousands of euros that flowed into his bank accounts annually since 2016.
Declared income of €680,000, received over €2.4 million
Financial documents seen by Times of Malta indicate Mifsud Bonnici received payments into his personal bank accounts of over €2.4 million between 2016 and 2019.
However, during those same four years, Mifsud Bonnici declared a total income of €680,000.
The income declarations do not include dividends received by Mifsud Bonnici from the community work scheme and other shareholdings, as tax on these would have been paid at company level.
Nonetheless, the discrepancy triggered suspicions of tax evasion due to the difference between his income declarations and the money received in his accounts.
The police’s Financial Crimes Investigations Department have been in possession of information detailing the suspicions since August 2021, according to documents reviewed by Times of Malta.
A police spokesman declined to comment when questioned by Times of Malta about the outcome of any investigations and the apparent lack of action against Mifsud Bonnici.
Mifsud Bonnici told Times of Malta he has never been sent for by the police, nor been told he is being investigated.
Money came from ‘declared retained earnings’
He said the money transferred to XNT came from “declared retained earnings from my profession, and dividends that are taxed at source”.
The lawyer added there is nothing for the police to investigate, as all taxable income had been appropriately declared to the authorities.
He said the payments he received between 2016 and 2019 include expenses that need to be deducted prior to declaring his income.
“Your rendering gives a partial and flawed result, since you have left out all expenses direct and indirect, thus giving an eschewed picture, with disregard to the true and complete picture of the accounts,” Mifsud Bonnici said.
A spokesperson for XNT said the company could not comment on “specific details” due to client confidentiality.
“XNT Limited reiterate that they have always adhered strictly to all anti money laundering legislation whether local or under EU regulations.
“Even in this particular case of Dr Mifsud Bonnici, our clients state that, as is always done with all of their clients, all the necessary due diligence was done and all required documents were passed on to them and all documents were duly verified,” XNT’s lawyers José Herrera and David Camilleri said.
XNT Limited was fined by Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) last year for lax internal anti-money laundering controls. The fine was overturned on appeal.
Not first time on police’s radar
This is not the first time that Mifsud Bonnici has been on the police’s radar.
In 2022, the local authorities sought help from the United States on cryptocurrency transfers between Mifsud Bonnici and murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.
US court filings show the request is linked to an ongoing court case against Fenech to buy a Glock Firearm and Scorpion CZ automatic rifle over the dark web in November 2018.
Investigations indicate that Mifsud Bonnici transferred the bitcoins to Fenech on the same day he ordered the firearms. Both men deny wrongdoing.
Fenech has been charged with orchestrating the October 2017 assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. He denies the charges.
The murder suspect has also been linked to corruption with Konrad Mizzi, having profited from Enemalta’s purchase of the Montenegro wind farm, via secret offshore companies.
Mifsud Bonnici was a close associate to Mizzi during his time in government. He acted as a legal advisor during the Vitals Global Healthcare deal, which has been mired in fraud and corruption claims.
He was also appointed by Mizzi as Enemalta’s board secretary and was involved in talks leading up to the Montenegro wind farm project.