A number of clients of No Deposit Cars Malta Ltd have filed a formal request for a magisterial inquiry into the company and its directors over various alleged episodes including an abduction and mysterious bags of cash at the airport.
Lawyers for the clients of the car hire and purchase company filed an application on Monday formally requesting the duty magistrate to launch an inquiry and preserve all the evidence concerning the raft of allegations.
The applicants said they were willing to testify before the magistrate alone so that the court could confirm that what they were saying was clear and credible.
In a lengthy application supported by documentation, the applicants’ lawyers listed fraud, involvement in a criminal association, aggravated theft, violence against private individuals, stalking and VAT evasion among crimes allegedly committed by the car company, its directors Christian Borg and Joe Camenzuli, as well as other associates including Luke John Milton, Thorne Mangion, Tyson Grech and James Spiteri.
Motorist forcibly pulled out of car
One of the applicants recalled an episode which took place while driving through Naxxar one day in March 2021.
His vehicle was blocked by Milton and Mangion who forcibly dragged him out of the car he had acquired on hire purchase from the company. They drove off in his car, telling him that he was late on payments.
Next day, when he turned up at the company's offices explaining that he had fallen back on some payments because of COVID-19 and lockdown, he was told that the “contract is now cancelled, go home.”
The woman for whom that car had been purchased received a letter from Princess Holdings saying that she owed them “lots of money.” She was so scared that she went and paid the sum “up to the last cent,” even though certain payments were not owed.
Young man kidnapped, forced to sign bills of exchange
Another episode referred to in the application allegedly took place some six years ago.
The applicants claimed that Milton and Borg had instructed two men, a Serbian and a Maltese, to kidnap a Maltese youth to force him into signing some bills of exchange.
The two hitmen pounced upon the youth while he was walking in the street, dumped him into the luggage boot of their car, tied his hands and placed a cover over his head.
The youth was taken to an Mqabba garage where he was tied to a chair, beaten and ultimately forced to sign 18 bills of exchange for €18,000.
(In a separate case in January last year, Christian Borg, Thorne Mangion, , Tyson Grech were among five men accused of abduction, holding the victim against his will, stealing up to €1,000 in cash, stealing a mobile phone, criminal conspiracy and making threats beyond the limits of provocation.)
In Monday's application, it was also claimed that Borg and his associates were allegedly involved in a criminal web that included unidentified officials from LESA and Transport Malta.
That organization was behind a number of crimes including bribery, corruption and misuse of electronic equipment, the applicants’ claimed.
Black bags stuffed with banknotes
Borg was also allegedly involved in a number of suspicious manoeuvres concerning “black bags, like garbage bags,” stuffed with cash, all euro banknotes.
This allegedly happened after 2019 when Borg would turn up outside the airport in his black Land Rover, soon to be joined by his associate Grech.
Black bags, stuffed with cash “definitely far above” the €10,000 statutory limit in terms of cash control regulations, would be transferred to Grech’s car.
This suspect operation allegedly took place once or twice a week, claimed the applicants, linking that to alleged money laundering activity by Borg and his associates.
The applicants drew a parallel to similar requests for a magisterial inquiry made by NGO Repubblika in relation to the Vitals deal and another one over alleged trading in influence in passport sales.
The application was signed by lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Kris Busietta.