The Foreign Ministry immediately terminated the contract of Malta’s non-resident ambassador to Cuba who was arrested and charged with human smuggling and money laundering.

Andre D’Amato, 37, from Mosta, an ICT professional and company director, was appointed ambassador in 2020 but had his contract rescinded as soon as the ministry was informed of his arraignment.

D’Amato was appointed non-resident ambassador to Cuba in October 2020.

“The ministry was informed by the competent authorities that this person was involved in a criminal case, and on the same day, internal instructions were issued to terminate his contract with immediate effect,” a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said.

“This termination was also immediately communicated to the Cuban Embassy in Rome,” he added.

D’Amato spent a week in preventive custody following his arraignment last week but the court ordered his immediate release on Wednesday following a blunder by the prosecution.  

He is pleading not guilty to human trafficking, money laundering, computer misuse, forgery of official documents, using forged documents, fraud and making false declarations.

The crimes were allegedly committed between 2018 and earlier this month.

When his case was due to be heard on Wednesday, Attorney General lawyers Ramon Bonett Sladden, Andreas Vella and police inspector Karl Roberts asked for a correction in the charge sheet because they wanted to add the money laundering charge as well as the charges related to fraud and falsification of documents.

However, rather than correcting the charge sheet, the prosecution filed a brand new charge sheet bearing Wednesday’s date as if the arraignment was going to start afresh.

Defence lawyers Franco Debono, Alfred Abela and Karl Cordina vociferously objected to their client’s continued arrest.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech noted that the prosecution had not added charges, as it was claiming, but had filed a fresh charge sheet bearing Wednesday’s date as if it were a fresh arraignment.

She observed that D’Amato was arrested on the strength of an arrest warrant issued by the duty magistrate last week. He was remanded in custody following the arraignment on the strength of the same arrest warrant.

She ruled that since this was a fresh procedure, his continued arrest was therefore illegal and she ordered his immediate release from arrest.