Hundreds of people who fraudulently received disability benefits they were not entitled to will be granted a presidential pardon against conditions, the government has announced.

The crime will be struck off their police conduct on conditions that include they pay back all their ill-gotten gains – in full or through a repayment plan – and that they agree to testify in court against any individual they know was involved in running the racket.

The pardon does not apply to those who allegedly masterminded the benefit fraud.

It was discussed and approved by cabinet last week and has been signed by President Myriam Spiteri Debono.

This means that hundreds of people who have been receiving around €450 monthly benefits for years after claiming they had a severe disability they did not actually suffer from will now be eligible to be granted the presidential pardon.

'Not letting them off the hook'

One source close to government said, however, the pardon is not intended to let people off the hook. But the cabinet acknowledged that, as has been revealed in court, many of those who received benefits they were not entitled to were genuinely sick, poor and needed the money.

For some of them, the benefit money was their livelihood, the source said, and others have illnesses that are so severe, that they would have probably been eligible for the benefit had they presented a genuine application with genuine medical certificates.

Moreover, another source added, some of them claim they truly had no idea they were applying for money they were not entitled to.

“What makes it even worse is that these people – some of whom were already in financial dire straits before being ordered to return all the money – now also risk being fired from their job if the court finds them guilty of the crime,” he said.

“The pardon is also only intended for the small fish,” he added.

Pardon not available for masterminds

Any person who was involved in masterminding, orchestrating or running any part of the racket will not be eligible for the presidential pardon.

This means that popular doctor and former Labour MP Silvio Grixti and four other people who have already been charged over alleged involvement in the large-scale, years-long racket will not be pardoned.

Neither will any other person who, in the future, may be charged with running the scam or any part of it.

This is the latest development in the saga that has been dramatically unfolding over the past months, revealing the remarkable magnitude of the intricate racket that has so far detected 288 people had received thousands of euros in fraudulent benefits who were ordered to refund a combined more than €5 million.

Many have been questioned by the police’s Financial Crimes Investigation Unit (FCID) and charged in court and most are admitting to the charges and agreeing to return their ill-gotten gains, thus getting off with a suspended sentence for defrauding the government.

Evidence indicates that in many cases, Grixti provided false medical documents to help people receive the benefits.

When questioned by police, some of his patients said they were truly suffering from other medical conditions and thought they were entitled to the benefit, claiming they had no idea they had been receiving illicit funds.

Others had no illnesses or disabilities and admitted they were aware they were breaking the law, but said they were persuaded to apply when Labour canvassers assured them that they would never be caught and that the money was EU funds earmarked for PL supporters.

Many others said they paid thousands of euros in kickbacks to their fixers.

People must apply for pardon

People who received benefits fraudulently will have to apply for the presidential pardon through a process during which they will also need to agree to its conditions.

Those who have already been charged and sentenced in court will have the crime struck off their police conduct and those who are yet to be caught but come forward to apply for the pardon and return their ill-gotten gains will not be charged.

In 2014, the government had similarly granted amnesty to some 1,000 people who had bribed public officers to acquire tampered electricity meters.

Back then, the people could apply for the amnesty and not be taken to court, on condition they pay for their stolen electricity plus a fine.

Grixti, four others in court

Earlier this month, Grixti and four other people were charged in court with playing a key role in the disability benefits racket that is believed to have cost taxpayers as much as €6 million.

Handwritten ledgers found by police at the home of one of the suspected agents in the racket also indicated that beneficiaries paid sums which were split between Grixti and the go-betweens.

Police combing through a laptop belonging to Grixti also told court they found document templates bearing other doctors’ names indicative of document forgery.

A former cybercrime unit officer said he found more than 400 files that were deemed relevant to the investigation on the laptop.

And a top social services department official told the court that the earliest recorded case in the racket dated back to 2016.

The department had so far blocked payments to 321 recipients, he said. Some of those might not yet have been charged.