Lawyers for Vincent Buhagiar, the former chairman of Progress Press, are requesting a court to limit a blanket freezing order issued in money laundering proceedings, to just under €250,000.
The request was made in court on Monday by Buhagiar’s lawyer after a representative of the Central Bank testified at the proceedings where the former high ranking official stands charged over payments he allegedly received from a Gibraltar-based company, Malmos Ltd, owned by former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri.
In April prosecutors said Buhagiar could not explain hundreds of thousands of euro he received from Keith Schembri, telling investigators that those were payments for consultancy services forming part of a “gentlemen’s agreement.”
Buhagiar, who is pleading not guilty to money laundering offences, received amounts over US$134,000, US$105,000 and €50,000 from a Gibraltar-based company, Malmos Ltd, owned by Schembri.
The court also heard that financial crimes investigators had traced an email from Schembri to a ‘VB’ concerning a US$35,000 transfer.
A Central Bank official presented documentation to determine the value of those transactions in euro.
Citing rates established by the European Central Bank, the witness listed one transaction dated December 24, 2008 for US$35,000. That amount was equivalent to €24,991.07.
Another transaction of US$ 134,855 on March 1, 2011 was equivalent to €97,544.30.
The last transaction for US$105,845, equivalent to €74,345.02 took place on May 20, 2011.
Those three transactions, added to another €50,000, totalled €246,880.39.
Buhagiar is pleading not guilty to money laundering offences.
Without prejudice to the accused’s presumption of innocence, his lawyer Veronique Dalli requested the court to vary the freezing order in such manner as to cap it at that total amount, authorising the release of the rest of his assets.
Lawyer Antoine Agius Bonnici from the Attorney General's office, made reference to a previous testimony of prosecuting Inspector Joseph Xerri on this matter and did not object to the defence’s request.
Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech is expected to decree upon the request in chambers.
The case continues in March.
Inspector Joseph Xerri prosecuted, assisted by AG lawyers Antoine Agius Bonnici and Sean Xerri de Caro.
Lawyer Veronique Dalli is defence counsel.