Updated 4.15pm
The Criminal Court has confirmed bail for Lilu King, warning that his freedom from arrest would be "immediately revoked" if he approached any prosecution witness.
That was the outcome of a decree delivered on Friday afternoon by Madam Justice Edwina Grima turning down the Attorney General's request for the bail to be revoked.
Paceville entrepreneur and social media influencer Mohamed Ali Ahmed Elmushraty, known as Lilu King, was granted bail by the magistrate presiding over the compilation of evidence where he stands accused of involvement in an organised group linked to drug trafficking and money laundering.
He is pleading not guilty. On Tuesday, after several previous bail requests had failed, the defence's latest attempt proved successful.
Magistrate Leonard Caruana upheld the request and granted bail against a deposit of €30,000, a personal guarantee of €40,000, a third party surety for €10,000, signing the bail book daily and a curfew between 9pm and 7am.
The Attorney General filed an application before the Criminal Court to have the bail revoked.
That request was turned down on Friday, but the judge added one more condition.
The court bound Elmushraty not to approach any of the prosecution witnesses in any manner, whether directly or indirectly by phone or some other means of communication.
Should the court be informed that the accused breached this condition, his bail would be immediately revoked.
'Prohibited immigrant' wanted by Libya
In her appeal, the AG cited the risk of absconding, tampering with evidence as well as the accused's lack of trustworthiness.
Elmushraty was a "prohibited immigrant" who was also wanted by Libyan authorities for investigation over certain crimes allegedly committed in that country. He was facing serious accusations, primarily involvement in a criminal organisation.
When deciding upon such a request, the court must assess whether the first court had exercised its discretion in a manner that was "evidently wrong", both factually and legally, said Judge Grima.
In this case, the prosecution had aired its objections before the Magistrates' Court and also declared that there were no further civilian witnesses to testify.
That eliminated the risk of tampering, especially since sworn statements by various witnesses were already preserved in the records of the case.
Thus, the judge found no reason to depart from the decision of the first court which had imposed conditions that offered the necessary guarantee in terms of law.
There was daily signing of the bail book, strict curfew hours, a hefty deposit, a considerable personal guarantee and a third party surety over and above.
But there was another condition that was missing, said the judge, ordering the accused not to approach prosecution witnesses in any manner.
Lawyers Franco Debono, Jose Herrera and Marion Camilleri are defence counsel.