An arrest warrant has been issued for Casino di Venezia director Giuseppe Malandrino after he repeatedly failed to appear in court to face criminal proceedings, the Times of Malta has learnt.

The warrant of arrest was issued after the police finally managed to hand deliver the court summons for Mr Malandrino to appear in court for failing to pay 10 former casino employees.

Sources said the police notified Mr Malandrino in person on July 1 after several weeks of unsuccessful attempts. Following this development and in view of the difficulties that were encountered to notify him about court hearings before Magistrate Carol Peralta, the police sought an arrest warrant.

But when officers went to his residence in Walter Ganado Street, Pembroke the following day armed with an arrest warrant issued by Magistrate Peralta there was no reply. Also, neither his nor his wife’s cars were anywhere in sight.

I cannot permit that people like him rob Maltese workers of their salaries

Sources said the magistrate was willing to give the green light for a European arrest warrant to be issued against Mr Malandrino. However, the Attorney General’s office informed the police that the crime over which Mr Malandrino is wanted – breaches of the Industrial and Employment Relations Act – was not something over which such a warrant could be issued.

“For them [the Attorney General’s Office] the failure to pay salaries is not fraud, so a European arrest warrant cannot be issued,” the magistrate told the unpaid employees when they appeared before him recently.

The magistrate heard Police Constable Christopher Attard testify he had notified Mr Malandrino of the court sitting but could not execute the arrest warrant because the Sicilian was nowhere to be found. Magistrate Peralta therefore ordered that the police should try to execute the warrant on a daily basis and he put off the hearing to tomorrow to be informed of any developments.

“I cannot permit that people like him rob Maltese workers of their salaries. I know it’s an uphill struggle but we are doing our best to get what you’re owed,” he told the former employees.

The situation at the Vittoriosa-based casino began to deteriorate within just months of opening its doors in Malta in August 2001.

The casino was run by Vittoriosa Gaming Ltd, owned by the Municipality of Venice. A report commissioned by Venice mayor Paolo Costa revealed that the casino made a loss of €3 million in its first year of operations. The situation continued to worsen following an armed robbery in February 2010 when a six-figure sum was stolen in a daring, well-planned, hold-up that, so far, remains unsolved.

The thieves used a stolen Mitsubishi Pajero as their getaway car before they drove into the sea and fled in a white speedboat.

In April 2013, jobs there were terminated after the Lotteries and Gaming Authority suspended the casino’s licence for not sticking to its conditions due to losses it had been making since the end of 2011.