Former More supermarket owner’s property to be auctioned
Ryan Schembri had his assets frozen in 2022 on being extradited to Malta eight years after fleeing the island and leaving behind a trail of debts
The court has cleared the path for a freeze on two of Ryan Schembri’s properties to be lifted so they can be auctioned to pay money owed to BNF bank.
Schembri had his assets frozen in 2022 on being extradited to Malta eight years after fleeing the island and allegedly leaving behind a trail of debts running into millions of euros as part of an alleged fraud scheme.
The former More Supermarkets boss was charged with money-laundering and fraud.
In a court decision this month, Mr Justice Henri Mizzi upheld a request by BNF Bank for a freeze on Schembri’s Mellieħa villa and Vittoriosa apartment to be lifted so the bank could potentially sell them via judicial auction to pay off money it is owed.
Although both properties were under a bank hypothec, the Asset Recovery Bureau, which handles frozen assets, contested BNF’s rights to the property. The court dismissed the objections and declared that the auction proceeds can be used to pay off BNF’s debts, with any remaining balance remaining subject to the freeze.
Schembri was once described by a former associate as a “rising star” who gave the impression that your money was safe with him. When interrogated by investigators in 2022, Schembri claimed he always intended to pay back his creditors.
€25m in Dubai
Investigators allege Schembri had racked up huge debts from investors in his supermarket and food imports business. He would allegedly give creditors cheques that would bounce or else encourage them to reinvest their profits.
Adrian Agius, who is serving a life sentence for a contract killing of a lawyer, had claimed in a sworn statement that Schembri transferred €25 million to Dubai. Agius was involved in the More Supermarket venture, which went bust in 2014.
The civil court had found in 2023 that Schembri committed fraud when he appeared on a €3.5 million constitution of debt contract when knowing he was no longer the legal representative of the supermarket chain.
The police had admitted that a warrant for Schembri’s arrest was only issued in 2021, seven years after he fled the island. Although they had received a long list of complaints from multiple investors, there had been no attempt to bring him back to the island prior to 2021.
Schembri is the cousin of Keith Schembri, the former chief of staff at the prime minister’s office, who resigned in November 2019.