The Marsaxlokk local council was forced to backpedal on a decision to award Gieħ Marsaxlokk to its former parish priest, Fr Luke Seguna, who is facing charges of fraud, misappropriation and money laundering.
Despite a unanimous decision by the councillors, the council is now seeking to nominate someone else for the award after being informed that it could not bestow the honour on someone who is facing criminal charges.
Marsaxlokk mayor Steven Grech confirmed when contacted yesterday that the council had discussed and voted on a resolution to honour Seguna with the Gieħ Marsaxlokk honour “to recognise the great good that he carried out in the locality” where he served as parish priest until he was arrested in August last year.
Four of the five councillors voted in favour of the resolution because the fifth was absent for the meeting.
However, it was later brought to the council’s attention that the Local Councils Act specifically precluded the council from bestowing the honour on people facing criminal proceedings.
When contacted, Seguna’s legal counsel, Matthew Xuereb, said that since criminal proceedings were still under way, his client would prefer not commenting at this stage.
Over a number of court sittings since his case began, numerous parishioners testified about the valuable work done by Seguna for the parish church and the people of Marsaxlokk, some saying that they missed his charitable acts.
Witnesses said that they willingly donated funds under the “arbural” system while others explained that they used to donate money to the priest to be used by him as he best deemed fit.
However, prosecutors claim that the priest held hundreds of thousands of euros in various bank accounts, together with a collection of five motorbikes and two cars, despite a relatively meagre income as a clergyman.
Several suspicious bank transactions had triggered police investigations in his regard.
Some €148,000 were allegedly traced to payment processing companies linked to three pornographic websites and the police also tracked down a number of cheques totalling around €18,000 issued by a third party to the priest.
The 40-year-old priest is alleged to have misappropriated €500,000 given to him by 150 parishioners over a 10-year span. The money was intended for the Church, prosecutors said.
He also stands charged with fraud, falsifying a public deed and using a falsified document.
He denies all claims and is pleading not guilty. His lawyers argue that the contested money stems from donations given to him personally for the celebration of weddings and other events.
Seguna, a Tarxien resident who was appointed Marsaxlokk parish priest in 2016, previously served parishes in Żabbar, Żejtun and Rabat.
Earlier this year, Seguna asked for permission to be able to visit the village that lies “close to his heart”.
His bail conditions bar him from approaching the fishing village. The prosecution objected to that request, saying the whole case centred around Marsaxlokk and more parishioners were likely to be summoned as witnesses.
The court, presided over by Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras, rejected the request to vary the bail conditions at that stage of the proceedings.
She, however, revoked a curfew that forced Seguna to be home between 11.30pm and 7am after hearing that it was preventing him from attending certain events, such as 6am Mass and late evening prayer meetings. The curfew was no longer necessary, she said.
The case is still pending.