A man who allegedly swindled the state coffers out of some €60,000 in social benefits after acquiring Maltese citizenship through forged documents landed in court on Thursday.

Danyal Qadar Dad Tarar, 41, living in Sliema, was escorted to court under arrest after police, acting upon the conclusions of a magisterial inquiry, pressed charges against the suspect.

The man pleaded not guilty to the alleged fraud, as well as to forging documents, using such false documents and making a false declaration to a public authority so as to obtain Maltese citizenship. 

Over the past 11 years, the man had allegedly claimed some €60,000 in social benefits, saying that he was currently unemployed and only did voluntary work.

When making submissions on bail, defence lawyer Roberto Montalto argued that the accused had no past convictions and was well-settled in Malta where he has been living for years. 

Moreover, the evidence had already been preserved in the records of the magisterial inquiry, the lawyer argued. 

However, the court, presided over by magistrate Neville Camilleri, turned down the request for bail, upholding another request by the prosecution to issue a freezing order upon all assets of the accused. 

Inspectors Omar Zammit and Geoffrey Cutajar prosecuted.