Three Syrian men tracked down following a magisterial inquiry into reports of terrorism-related activity, were on Friday charged with money laundering, involvement in a criminal organisation and sharing of terrorist material.

One of the men, who faced the lesser charges of money laundering, was granted bail against a hefty deposit of €40,000 and a personal guarantee of €80,000. The other two were remanded in custody.

The three men were arraigned in relation to an inquiry that earlier this year led to seven other arraignments of suspects who shared terrorist-related material. That inquiry had been closed and then re-opened. It was currently ongoing, AG lawyer Antoine Agius Bonnici told court.

The first to be arraigned on Friday - Syrian national Ebrahem Ahmad, 35 - was charged with money laundering, operating banking services without a licence and involvement in a criminal organisation.

The plasterer, who lives in Pieta', pleaded not guilty. 

When his lawyers requested bail, the prosecution objected saying investigations were ongoing and some 30 other people were still to be questioned. 

But that objection prompted a strong rebuttal by the defence and a stern reaction by the court. 

"The accused was on police bail for some six months and there was no issue. Now that he's been arraigned, you're saying that he might approach witnesses," argued lawyer Nicholas Mifsud and legal procurator Colin Galea. 

The investigation was still ongoing, countered the prosecution. 

"I cannot bear to hear this objection - that 'the investigation is ongoing' - any longer. I wish you'd come with some better justification, "observed Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit. 

"By now you should be aware of the arguments raised by the defence to counter such an objection," she added.

The man was granted bail on condition of not approaching prosecution witnesses, especially civilians, signing the bail book daily, respect a curfew between 11pm and 6am, a deposit of €40,000 and a personal guarantee of €80,000.

The three men were all taken to Corradino Correctional Facility on Friday following their arraignment in court. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier.

The other two men were arraigned jointly and were charged with sharing terrorist material. 

Farhan Mohammed Sheikh, 29, from Ħamrun and Abdullah Aliwi, 23, from Paola pleaded not guilty.

The plasterers are both Syrian nationals.

Defence lawyer Jose' Herrera started off by noting that these arraignments stemmed from one magisterial inquiry. 

The charges were not the same but the same arguments applied. His argument was backed by defence lawyer Franco Debono. 

The case of the other seven Syrians currently undergoing criminal proceedings had been highly publicised. 

These two other co-accused were out on police bail and had all the time to approach witnesses and tamper.

AG lawyer Antoine Agius Bonnici rebutted that "the situation [of the two accused] is totally different" to that of Ahmad's. 

"You cannot compare. These are facing terrorism charges. You cannot compare money laundering to terrorism charges," he said.

Terrorism-related charges have a possible maximum punishment of life imprisonment. 

Their arraignment, he added, formed part of a global operation against terrorism. 

Besides the gravity of the crimes, there was also the fear of tampering, Agius Bonnici said, adding that even from within prison, there were people who had reached out to prosecution witnesses, ensured that some mobile data was cancelled and alerted suspects abroad not to come to Malta. Others had been told what to say if questioned. 

Moreover, these two had travelled to Malta illegally, he said. While one was sent to Greece, he had returned to Malta. 

EU law made it clear that those who promote terrorism were to face the same punishment as those who committed terrorist acts, he said, adding that such crimes impacted the whole population. 

There was a public interest and a concern for national security, stressed the prosecutor.

Herrera meanwhile noted that the two accused had simply received material on their devices and had not shared it. 

Their case, lawyer Matthew Xuereb added, was less complex than the money-laundering charges and cross-border activities by Ahmad who had been granted bail.

Debono put forward another argument: although the prosecution spoke in terms of the maximum punishment related to these charges, the actual punishment could well be much less. 

After hearing submissions the court turned down the request for bail in light of the very serious nature of the charges, to safeguard public order and national security and in light of the risk of other possible future crimes. 

There was also the risk of absconding, further enhanced by the fact that the charges carried a heavier punishment.

AG lawyers Francesco Refalo and Rebekah Spiteri also prosecuted together with Inspector Jean Paul Attard, Zachary Zammit and Keith Mallan. 

Lawyer Mario Mifsud was also defence counsel in the first arraignment while Martina Herrera was also defence counsel in the second arraignment.