Updated 12.45pm with Repubblika reaction

A court has acquitted notorious entrepreneur Christian Borg of perjury charges after ruling that the prosecution failed to present evidence to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

Borg had been accused of giving false testimony in a civil case heard before Magistrate Gabriella Vella in January 2021. The allegations emerged following a complaint filed by the magistrate herself, leading to criminal proceedings.

According to a police affidavit submitted in court, Magistrate Vella had requested legal action against Borg after suspecting he had lied under oath during a hearing on June 23, 2021.

However, when the case was brought before Magistrate Astrid May Grima, it was noted that the prosecution failed to present the transcript of Borg’s testimony. This was key evidence required to establish the alleged perjury.

Despite presenting supporting affidavits and official documents, the police's failure to submit the verbatim record of the testimony ultimately weakened its case.

The court ruled that the charges had not been proven to the degree required by law and subsequently acquitted Borg of all accusations.

Borg was thrust into the national spotlight back in 2022 when he was one of four men charged with a botched kidnapping. 

A court heard how he and his associates allegedly threatened to torture their victim and rape his sister.  

He is also facing separate charges of VAT fraud and money laundering, with investigators alleging that he defrauded millions through inflated or fabricated invoices.

Borg is also a central figure in suspicious property deals involving Prime Minister Robert Abela. 

Lawyers Stefano Filletti and Charles Mercieca were defence counsel.

This was no mistake, Repubblika says

In a strongly-worded reaction, rule of law NGO Repubblika claimed the prime minister's "interference" in favour of his "criminal friends" was becoming evident.

"On the basis of what we are seeing in court, we are being increasingly led to believe that there is collusion between the prosecution and defence so that criminal cases involving Robert Abela's friends are dropped," the NGO said.   

Borg was freed because the police had not even produced the transcription of remarks where he allegedly gave false testimony, it said. All they needed to do was to call on the court registrar to give evidence to confirm what had happened before another court.

This was basic, and had a mistake really been made, one would have expected an apology from the attorney general and the police and disciplinary action taken against those involved. But this was not a mistake.

"Their silence confirms the manifest corruption of the prosecution service," Repubblika charged.  

"This was auto-sabotage by the police against a case they had prosecuted on orders by another court.

"The worst injustice that the country is suffering is that criminals who are friends of Robert Abela enjoy impunity and the police are ready to protect them by not doing their duty," the NGO said.