New evidence from US authorities in Daniel Meli hacking case rejected by court
The court turned down a request for new evidence to be submitted
A court has rejected a police request to submit new evidence sent by American authorities in the case of suspected hacker Daniel Joe Meli, who is wanted in the US on charges related to the alleged sale of illegal malware on the dark web.
This marks the latest twist in the legal saga of 28-year-old Meli from Żabbar, who is accused of selling malware between 2012 and 2022. The malware, a remote access trojan (RAT), allows hackers to infiltrate computers and servers and take control of their operations.
Meli was first arrested in February last year in a joint operation involving the Malta Police, the Attorney General’s office, the FBI and US Justice Department. He initially consented to extradition but later changed his mind and contested the request, taking advantage of a recent legal amendment passed in parliament.
On May 12, the Maltese court dismissed the US extradition request, ruling that prosecutors had failed to meet the required burden of proof under Maltese law, criticising what it described as a “fairly lax” approach to presenting evidence.
The court had previously ordered that certain documents presented by prosecution witnesses be expunged, since they had not been presented under oath. This decision was raised as one of the Attorney General’s grievances on appeal and was upheld by the Court of Criminal Appeal. The case was then sent back to the Magistrates’ Court.
Magistrate Elaine Rizzo, who took over the case, ruled that there was no need to restart proceedings from the beginning or to rehear witnesses. Instead, she said she would hear legal submissions before issuing a decision.
The Police Commissioner later filed an application asking Rizzo to admit documents sent by the American authorities to the Foreign Affairs Minister during the appeal stage. He also requested that the expunged documents be re-admitted as evidence.
Magistrate Rizzo denied both requests, stressing she was bound to respect procedural rules and avoid unnecessary delays, especially since proceedings had already started in February 2024. The defence and the prosecution had both declared they had no more evidence. She also ruled that she had no power to overturn decisions taken by the previous court.
Rizzo noted that the same US documents had already been the subject of a request that was turned down by the Court of Appeal in May 2025. It was deemed unacceptable for the police to attempt to derail proceedings by reintroducing evidence previously rejected.
Lawyers Daphne Baldacchino, Sean Xerri De Caro, and Maria Zerafa Le-Gros appeared for the Attorney General.
Lawyers Franco Debono, Arthur Azzopardi, and Lennox Vella appeared for Meli.