Prosecutors who have accused Fr Luke Seguna of money laundering have been ordered to identify which of the priest’s assets they want confiscated. Should they fail to do so, a blanket freezing order that Fr Seguna is currently subject to will cease to have effect, a court declared.
The decree stemmed from a request filed by lawyers assisting the former Marsaxlokk parish priest, who stands accused of money laundering, fraud and misappropriation.
Fr Seguna was arraigned almost two years ago over charges of having allegedly misappropriated some €500,000 from 150 parishioners over a 10-year span. He denies the charges and his case is still ongoing before the Magistrates’ Courts.
The priest came under investigation after various bank transactions he made were flagged as suspicious. Prosecutors say he held hundreds of thousands of euros in various bank accounts, along with five motorbikes, two cars and a garage purchased for €34,000 despite a relatively meagre income as a clergyman.
Moreover, investigators allegedly traced payments totaling some €148,000 to payment processing companies linked to a porn site and several cheques issued by a third party to the priest.
Upon arraignment, all of Fr Seguna’s assets were confiscated under a blanket seizure and freezing order, as the law provided for at the time.
However, earlier this year those laws were amended to require prosecutors applying for a freezing order to indicate a specific amount of funds or assets which are to be confiscated.
As part of those legal changes, people facing money laundering cases – as in Fr Seguna’s case – were given the opportunity to ask for their freezing order to be brought into line with the new legal regime.
Seguna’s lawyers filed an application along those lines, requesting the court to vary the freezing order over the accused’s assets by limiting it to specific money, assets, or both.
The court, presided over by magistrate Rachel Montebello, observed that prosecutors were still presenting their evidence against Seguna in the case.
During the proceedings, a former police inspector who had been involved in the investigations testified about the priest’s bank accounts.
Deposits between 2015 and 2022 totaled €449,373, including some €200,000 in cash deposits and €75,000 representing his total clergyman’s salary.
Police traced no other sources of funds such as donations or inheritance.
There were also several vehicles registered in the accused’s name, the purchase of a garage and some €148,000 spent on three sites during that same period of time, the former investigator testified.
In terms of the recent amendments if the court concluded that the freezing order was to be regulated according to the new regime, it was to order the prosecution to indicate which of the accused’s property was subject to confiscation and that information was to reach the court within 90 days.
When all was considered, the court upheld Seguna’s request, thereby ordering the prosecution to list the assets or specific sum of money or both subject to confiscation on a reasonable basis.
That order was to be complied with within 90 days from the date of the decree.
The court could also issue further instructions to determine the specific amounts or assets to be confiscated.
However, if the prosecution failed to fulfil that order within the statutory time-limit, the seizing and freezing order would cease to have effect in terms of law.
Lawyers Jose’ Herrera, Matthew Xuereb and Alex Scerri Herrera are defence counsel.