A court has revoked the brief of two assistants appointed to oversee the operations of restaurants at the centre of a police investigation after finding that they have a conflict of interest. 

The two fish restaurants are fronted by Florinda Sultana and Albert Buttigieg, a former bank official, currently hit by a freezing order in money laundering proceedings. Sultana is the stepdaughter of Darren Debono, who was linked to the companies that own the restaurants. 

Various issues came to the fore during a hearing on Tuesday regarding the operation of Porticello restaurant in Valletta and Capo Mulini at Marsaxlokk.

Sultana and Buttigieg are pleading not guilty to a raft of charges stemming from an extensive police operation last year, which cracked down on a €30 million fuel smuggling racket with alleged links to the restaurant-owning companies owned by Debono.

An accountant and lawyer, Adrian Sciberras, had been tasked to oversee the ordinary running of MSI Catering Ltd, one of the companies where Sultana had formerly served as director, fronting operations at Porticello.

To help him keep a close control on daily cash flow at the restaurants, the Attorney General had suggested appointing two “assistants” to report cash takings to the administrator on a regular basis.

Yet after delving into the actual set-up and upon being told that the two ‘assistants’ were actually employees of the company being scrutinized by the administrator, Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech declared that their brief was being revoked.

Such ‘assistants’ clearly had a conflict of interest, the court declared.

“An administrator is not a watchman,” the magistrate remarked, adding that such a court expert was not expected to keep a “hawk-like” watch on cash but to manage the ordinary transactions of the company, even by carrying out onsite inspections.

Lawyer Adrian Sciberras, the administrator, said that he and his team did carry out “spot checks,”  adding that they would inform the restaurant about any upcoming visit, down to the hour of such visit.

That explanation sparked another sharp retort by the magistrate who pointed out that no forewarning was expected if such “spot checks” were to serve their purpose.

As the administrator went on with his testimony, reporting that the net asset value of the company stood at €120,000, he voiced exasperation over the fact that “adverse media” had further complicated his task.

The company had ended up without a bank account, he said.

The foreign account it previously held was closed by the bank when “adverse” news about the case broke out and none of the major local banks were willing to service the business, the court was told.

Consequently, the administrator said he tried opening an EMI account abroad to channel patrons’ monies which, in turn, could be used to cover wages.

But that explanation was a further cause for concern by the court.

“Are you aware that such an attempt could render you liable to breaching a court-imposed freezing order?” asked the magistrate.

She warned the witness that by so doing he was overstepping the terms of his brief and he should have first sought authorisation from the court.

Company funds were currently being directed into Sultana’s personal account, the witness ventured by way of explanation, doing little to assuage the magistrate’s concerns.

After discussing commercially sensitive information with lawyers and prosecutors at the bench, the magistrate said that she would assess the situation and provide accordingly.

During the two-hour sitting, a line of former employees at the fish restaurants took the witness stand, each identifying Sultana and Buttigieg as their employers.

One former waitress said that although she saw very little of Buttigieg while working at Capo Mulini, she had been told by the manager that he [Buttigieg] was the “boss.”

He would go for lunch regularly, she added.

Another witness working as chef at the former Scoglitti restaurant, said that the place was run by Sultana, while Buttigieg was owner of Capo Mulini.

Witnesses said that they were paid either by direct bank transfer from Luzzu Catering Ltd or by cheque or cash.

A blacksmith also testified about maintenance works carried out under the instructions of Darren Debono at “a Valletta restaurant” whose name he did not recall.

He was also once engaged by “Floren” to fix a door lock, the witness said, adding that he was mostly paid by Debono in cash.

The case continues next month.

Lawyers Stefano Filletti and Martina Cuschieri were defence counsel.

AG lawyer Antoine Mifsud Bonnici handled the prosecution.