Former Allied Group managing director Adrian Hillman was given bail after a three-hour court sitting where he is facing accusations of money laundering, fraud and other crimes.
Magistrate Doreen Clarke upheld the arguments made by defence lawyer Stefano Filletti, a day after Hillman was extradited from the UK to Malta.
Hillman and former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri were the subject of a four-year magisterial inquiry into suspicious payments that passed between the pair.
Schembri was charged in March together with his business associates, financial advisers Nexia BT and Zenith Finance, formerly MFSP, on a slew of criminal charges.
Filletti lawyer fought back the prosecution's case to deny bail, saying that Hillman had willingly cooperated with the authorities, voluntarily gave himself up, there was no fear of absconding, had an untainted criminal record and is not an unruly character.
After one hour, the magistrate upheld the defence's request to grant bail but upheld a freezing order and imposed a series of conditions.
Minute-by-minute:
Accused is visibly-relieved
1.30pm A visibly-relieved Hillman turns to his relatives, his mother is seen in tears.
All leave the court room, together with the lawyers.
Thanks for following this live blog. A summary will follow shortly.
Bail conditions
1.25pm The magistrate decides Hillman must appear for all hearings, not approach the witnesses in any way, live in a fixed address, must present all personal documents in court, and will have to abide by a curfew from 10pm to 7am.
He cannot approach any shore or airport, and will have to sign the bail book every day.
He needs to deposit €50,000 and his relatives jointly make a personal guarantee of €100,000.
Bail request upheld
1.18pm The magistrate is out and upholds the bail request.
The freezing order is upheld too.
All of Hillman's assets and his companies to be seized and all transfer of property is barred by the court.
Decision soon
1.15pm AG lawyers and police inspectors have returned to the court room.
The magistrate will decide on bail shortly.
Hillman is accused of money laundering, conspiracy to commit a crime, defrauding Progress Press, making fraudulent gain, making a false declaration to a public authority and accepting bribes as a managing director of Allied Group.
Magistrate to decide
12.10pm The magistrate retires to her chambers to decide on the bail decree.
We will keep you posted as soon as a decision is taken.
Arguments over freezing order
12.05pm Turning to the freezing order, Filletti says that Hillman has been working since 1984.
"Should all be seized under the order, including that earned over 20 years or so before he took up job at Allied? A freezing order is not intended to ruin person’s life but to safeguard the assets targeted by the charges."
Magistrate asks the AG lawyer, if the prosecution intends limiting its request.
"No. The presumption is that all assets are linked to proceeds of crime," he replies.
Prosecution still fears tampering
11.55am The AG lawyer is not satisfied. He points out that Hillman went to England around the same time that attachment order was issued.
"Why didn’t he contact Maltese police rather than inform the police in England?"
And among the charges, he breached the trust of the company he worked with as well as the pending case with Malta Enterprise. Civilians still need to testify and their testimony is crucial. Hence, the prosecution's fear of tampering.
A tense Filletti hits back: “so should he have contacted the police simply on the basis of media reports? Are we going to such absurdity! And vaguely saying that there are civilian witnesses without indicating who they are, is not on."
Hillman was denied bail in UK
11.50am Filletti continues: "Does prosecution want its pound of flesh? Don’t worry! Adrian Hillman did get a taste of jail in England for several days because he was denied bail there."
"Should he try to escape, three close relatives may risk jail and forfeiture of their money. A balance may be struck through signing bail book even twice daily. All his co-accused are out on bail."
He is prepared to subject himself to all conditions deemed fit by the court.
That winds up his defence.
'A taste of jail?'
11.40am Filletti says that all evidence is preserved and it runs into “thousands of pages” and all civilian testimonies are preserved there.
It was also reported that action has already been taken against accomplices.
"And civilian witnesses have also testified in other separate proceedings. So if they were to change versions, they would face possible prosecution for perjury. The investigations are wrapped up.
"Now, the prosecution have come up with another objection. Tampering. What is he to tamper? He was at Allied years ago. Is it that the prosecution want Hillman to get a taste of jail?"
According to media reports, Hillman received kickbacks: but nobody asked him about them, no explanation was sought about those transactions.
'He's an exemplary man'
11.30am Defence lawyer asks why there is a fear of absconding when Hillman's criminal record is untainted, he has had no brush with the law and he is not an unruly character.
"He’s an exemplary man. A family man with a clean criminal record. He turned himself in and came here in spite of never having been approached beforehand by police."
'What more do you want?"
11.25am Hillman's name was placed on wanted list before alerting the person of interest, Filletti says: all ports alerted to stop him leaving the country. If he were to buy a ticket to fly out, he would be arrested.
Lawyer Stefano Filletti.On March 30, an email was sent from his lawyer to UK international crime agency. The lawyer was told to inform his client to attend police station for his surrender. Other emails followed.
"Then he was given another date. The email thread showed cooperation. This was the man who supposedly escaped! He said he was surrendering himself. What more do you want?”
Some difficulties were encountered because of the Brexit changes, but this was no fault of Hillman, the lawyer says.
"Yes, his family is based in England but the rest of the family is here."
Nobody sent for him
11.15am The defence lawyer continues: Based on testimony in court proceedings, it was said that Hillman made millions.
"The media reported faithfully. But that made it difficult for him to find employment."
Since September, Hillman travelled to Malta to visit his family, returning just last October.
"Did anyone stop him after his 'majestic escape'?"
"All throughout the magisterial inquiry, did anyone send for him? Prosecution are basing themselves on 'possibilities'. An element of doubt. But they could have sent for Hillman and confronted him with the evidence in hand."
"His only mistake was that he ought to have realised and ought to have camped down outside court in the hope of being spoken to by the magistrate!," Filletti says, tongue-in-cheek.
'Arrest is the exception'
11.10am Defence lawyer Filletti takes over arguments, saying he is rather surprised by these submissions.
"It’s for the prosecution to prove why the accused should not be granted bail. Personal liberty is the fundamental norm. But this right has some limitations, such as police power to arrest and arraign.
"Arrest is the exception. It’s for the prosecution to morally convince the court that that exception to the rule is justified."
Filletti says the court must also take note of character of accused, and the gravity of the offences and guarantees offered.
"These are allegations which date back to 2005 - 15/16 years ago! Isn’t this relevant? Why the urgency now? Hillman was in Malta until last year, waiting."
Filletti says Hillman's address was published on local papers - so if the media knew his whereabouts, why didn't the police?
"Apparently no one wanted to listen to Adrian Hillman. He gave a clear explanation. His wife got a fellowship and he had no employment."
Objections to bail
11.05am AG lawyer Antoine Agius Bonnici makes his objections to bail.
For eight months, Hillman knew that police were searching for him and yet he did not get in touch. The greatest fear remains that he will abscond. Moreover, his wife and children and assets are based abroad.
Proceedings are also at a very premature stage, with civilians and other officials still to testify.
It is not enough to have his relatives ready to step in as guarantors.
Accused's parents step in
10.52am The accused's elderly father, Colin Hillman, takes the stand in the context of the bail request. He says his son has dual nationality - Maltese and British.
He accepts to act as guarantor for his son.
The father tells the court that he understands that action could be taken against him if his son breaches any bail conditions.
He also says he is prepared to pay should Adrian Hillman fail to place a bail bond. The frail man walks slowly out of the hall as his wife approaches the witness stand.
The accused's mother and sister also say they are willing to deposit money for bail, fully aware of forfeiture in case of any bail condition breaches.
Difficulties sparked by Brexit
10.47am Days lapsed between his arrest and extradition. Xerri admits difficulties were sparked because of Brexit.
"It was on the part of UK authorities not Hillman. So, the delays not caused by Hillman," he says.
Accused 'voluntarily' gave himself over
10.45am AG lawyer Antoine Agius Bonnici asks Xerri when did the investigation against Hillman start.
He says the attachment order was effectively notified to the accused yesterday, upon his arrival in Malta.
Filletti shows the inspector correspondence between British lawyers and British judicial authorities.
"Were you aware of that correspondence?"
"No, these were never brought to our attention," Xerri says.
To prove he cooperated, Filletti shows a document whereby Hillman voluntarily handed himself over, renounced to his rights in the UK, and gave his consent to face prosecution in Malta.
10.40am Xerri is questioned by Filletti. The allegations date from 2005 to 2019. The magisterial inquiry started around May, 2017 and was wrapped up earlier this year.
"In all that time, did you ever try to contact Hillman?"
Xerri says the first attempt was on March 7. He says he spoke to Hillman for the first time yesterday.
Filletti: "Why did he leave Malta?"
Xerri: "He said his wife was following a fellowship in England and his children were having difficulty settling in Malta."
The inspector adds that Hillman did not reply to questions because the arrest warrant had been issued to prosecute him.
'Not guilty'
10.35am Hillman stands up to give his personal details. He is 56, and currently self-employed. He pleads not guilty.
He is asked about the registered addresses of the companies he represents: Network Overseas Holdings and Lester Holdings. He says he is not sure.
The companies "also plead not guilty".
The lawyers request bail for their client. Prosecution object to bail, saying there is also a request for a freezing order.
Accompanied from Heathrow
10.30am On Friday morning, four officers accompanied Hillman from Heathrow, telling him about the charges faced.
He was shown an arrest warrant and, upon his return he released a statement.
"Do you have a copy of the warrant," Filletti asks.
"Yes," replies Xerri, showing the document. In view of that document, the defence does not contest the validity of the arrest.
Inspector takes the stand
10.20am Inspector Xerri takes the oath but Filletti interrupts.
The accused's parents to leave the hall in case they might need to testify later on bail issues.
Xerri starts off wrapping up magistrate Josette Demicoli's inquiry in March which found there was sufficient prima facie evidence to take action against Hillman and others.
Challenging the arrest
10.20am Hillman's lawyer, Stefano Filletti informs the magistrate that they will be challenging the validity of the arrest.
He is also assisted legally by Mark Refalo, Maurice Meli and Nicole Galea.
The prosecution take the oath and confirm the charges unanimously against his companies: Network Overseas Ltd and Lester Holdings Ltd.
Hillman escorted into court room
10.15am Hillman is escorted into the court room. He is seated alone at the front bench with two plainclothes officers standing at the back of the hall.
The magistrate takes her seat.
Good morning
9.55am We are in hall 10.
The prosecution is led by FCID inspectors Joseph Xerri and Lianne Bonello. They are aided by Attorney General lawyers Antoine Agius Bonnici, Andrea Zammit and Sean Xerri de Caro.
Background
According to a leaked Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit report, Schembri allegedly filtered over €650,000 to Hillman in over 30 “suspicious transactions” between 2011 and 2015.
Hillman was also found to have deposited €225,000 in cash into his HSBC account between January 2011 and February 2016.
As soon as the scandal was exposed by Daphne Caruana Galizia, Hillman went on garden leave from Allied Newspapers and the company severed all ties with him shortly afterwards.