Maria Efimova’s husband has been arrested by the Cypriot police, the former Pilatus Bank employee said late on Monday.

Efimova was the person who claimed that secret company Egrant belonged to Michelle Muscat, the wife of former prime minister Joseph Muscat. An inquiry found no evidence to back those claims and recommended that Efimova be prosecuted. 

A court heard last week that Efimova could not be traced to be notified about the case.

In a post on Facebook on Monday, she said that the "corrupt" regimes of Malta and Cyprus had gone after her husband as they were unable to get to her.

“Same ridiculous charges which Cyprus has tried to press on me three years ago and has been stopped by the Europe Council, are now pressed on my husband. 

“How is it legal, I can't even imagine.”

Efimova said that a nominee signatory for thousands of Cypriot and British Virgin Islands companies named Natalia Antoniou had made multiple accusations against her husband.

She however said her husband had never met Antoniou and had no business ties to the companies had signed for.

Efimova, together with Jonathan Ferris, were charged with perjury a week ago in a case Magistrate Joe Mifsud abstained from hearing, owing to other pending proceedings before him. 

The case will now return to the court registrar to be assigned to another magistrate. 

The magistrate said he was taking his decision for recusal in the interests of the best administration of justice since he is also presiding over a stalled case in which Efimova is charged with having made false accusations against Superintendent Denis Theuma and inspectors Jonathan Ferris and Lara Butters.

Efimova was an executive assistant to Pilatus' owner Ali Sadr and was one of the sources behind journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia's report on the alleged ownership of Egrant.