Yorgen Fenech has been granted bail in his money laundering case after the court took note of various factors including his untainted criminal record and the “very discreet sum” allegedly at stake.

However, in view of his other criminal proceedings, including being charged with conspiracy to murder journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, he remains in custody.

The court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, read out the decree after briefly suspending the sitting on Tuesday afternoon following final submissions on bail by the parties. 

The court observed that the sum allegedly involved was “very discreet” and the allegations were confined to a very limited time-frame.

Moreover, in spite of repeatedly urging the prosecution to put forward evidence to support its greatest fear, namely that Fenech would abscond if granted bail, no evidence was produced to that effect. 

In this case, the offences were punishable even possibly by a fine, observed the court.

Earlier on during the hearing, Magistrate Frendo Dimech had urged the prosecution to elaborate on this perceived “fear”, pointing out that other persons facing similar charges had, in fact, been granted bail. 

“There are others in the same boat, possibly pulling the same oar and having ties abroad, who were granted bail,” the magistrate said. 

Moreover, when granting bail, the court also took note of the fact that all Fenech’s assets were subject to a freezing order. 

In spite of claiming that the businessman had assets abroad, the prosecution had not sought to freeze that property too. 

Nor did the prosecution sufficiently justify their arguments that Fenech would not satisfy bail conditions. 

In light of this, Fenech was granted bail against a deposit of €30,000, a personal guarantee of €70,000 and ordered to sign the bail book, to abide by a curfew and not approach within 100 metres of any airfield or sea craft. 

A number of employees at Tumas Gaming testified against their former boss on Tuesday afternoon in money laundering proceedings wherein Fenech also stands accused of defrauding Glimmer Ltd, a company he owned with his uncle. 

A money laundering reporting officer, the acting chief operating officer, a general manager at the Oracle Casino as well as a cash desk manager, all ran the court through the standard procedure involved in registering new clients at the company’s Qawra and St Julian’s casinos.

Personal details of all registered clients were saved in the company records together with information about gaming transactions. 

The witnesses also gave an overview of the system whereby winnings at tables and slot machines were cashed.

The case continues in December.  

The attorney general could appeal the decision.

Fenech is awaiting trial for his alleged conspiracy in the murder of Caruana Galizia in October 2017.