Alleged loan shark Carlos Pace out on bail

Carlos Pace, a member of an alleged family of loan sharks, has been released on bail.

The 24-year-old is one of six members of the same family facing charges of money laundering and usury. 

He is also out on bail for separate charges of the theft of 132kg of cannabis from the Armed Forces barracks in February 2025.

Three generations of the Pace family are accused of involvement in an extensive loan-sharking operation. 

The accused - Carlos Pace, 24, his half-brother Cleaven, 20, their father Keith, his partner Maria Grixti, 49 and grandparents Lawrence and Emanuela Pace, 73, from Marsa - deny the charges. 

Cleaven Pace has had his bail deposit reduce. Photo: Times of Malta

Victims have described borrowing low sums of money and then being forced to repay up to 20 times the amount amid threats from the family. 

CCTV showed how Carlos Pace removed number plates from one alleged victim's car but claimed this was a "joke".

The court upheld his request for bail against a €15,000 deposit and a €35,000 personal guarantee, reversing a decision taken three weeks ago when a similar request was made.

Meanwhile, his brother, Cleaven Pace, 20, who was previously granted bail, has had his deposit reduced from €15,000 to €10,000 after arguing that he could not afford the original amount. However, the court also increased a personal guarantee imposed on him to €50,000 from €35,000. 

The court accepted the request after the defence argued that both brothers had already spent a considerable amount of time on remand, had secured prospective employment and were backed by third-party guarantees.

However Magistrate Lara Lanfranco rejected a bail request filed by Maria Grixti, the partner of the brothers' father, Keith.

The defence had argued that she has an almost clean criminal record, with only minor convictions dating back to 2001, 2004 and 2009, and highlighted that she is the mother of a three-and-a-half-year-old child.

The prosecution countered that several witnesses have yet to testify and insisted that the evidence heard so far points to the active involvement of both Carlos and Maria Pace, including their alleged role in arranging payments.

Keith Pace remains under arrest and did not seek bail during Friday's sitting. His parents were granted bail upon arraignment after the prosecution did not object because of their age and health.

The sitting had been adjourned from last week after a court lift malfunctioned when several people were trapped inside it for more than two hours. Civil Protection Department personnel were eventually called in to free them.

The prosecution was led by Inspector Lianne Bonello assisted by lawyers Neville Galea and Michael Muscat on behalf of the Attorney General. Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Adreana Zammit appeared for all the accused. Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri are also representing the elderly defendants.