Archbishop Charles Scicluna has commissioned an audit into the finances of the Marsaxlokk parish after a priest was charged in court with misappropriating large volumes of parishioners’ donations there.

The parish priest is pleading not guilty to charges of misappropriation and money laundering after he was arraigned in court last week. 

Seguna, 39, is accused of misappropriating some €500,000 given to him by 150 Marsaxlokk parishioners over a 10-year span. 

Investigators say they found hundreds of thousands of euros deposited in various bank accounts held by Seguna as well as a collection of five motorbikes and two cars, despite a relatively meagre income as a clergyman.

He is also believed to have spent some €148,000 worth of donation money to pay for live sexual performances on pornographic websites. 

His lawyers say Seguna denies all wrongdoing.

Seguna is believed to have told investigators he was struggling with a “sexual crisis” triggered by a major health problem at the time.

Money via Revolut

Sources said an audit will be carried out by Jesmond Cutajar, the chief audit executive of the Archdiocese who reports to the Curia’s audit committee.

Although it is a church body, the committee operates at arm’s length from the Archdiocese and is chaired by an auditor who is independent of the Curia.

Seguna – who regularly uploaded appeals through Facebook to donate money through cheques addressed to him personally, urged donors to send money via Revolut or directly into a bank account – appears to have contravened several Curia rules governing the handling of parish finances and donations.

Some irregularities had been flagged to him by Church officials, sources said; however, the alleged criminal activity is understood to have come as a shock to the heads of the church in Malta.

The Curia has had several rules in place since 2001, including the need for donations to go untouched into parish accounts.

Donations rules

In January 2021, the Curia introduced new rules for the way donations are administered. 

According to the rules, parish bank accounts can only be opened with permission of a senior Curia official. Once these are approved, they can only be issued in the name of the parish and not in the name of the parish priest. 

Two signatories are required: the administrator and individual from a committee on finances that each parish is meant to appoint. Should an issue arise, officials from the Curia’s administration office are entitled to request information from the bank on the parish account.

Any donation exceeding €10,000 is to be deposited directly with the Curia.

There are also limits on how much money parishes can hold. Those with a population exceeding 8,000 may keep up to €20,000 in their account.

All bank accounts that handle donations must be in the name of the parish and all church collections must be deposited here.

According to the rules it is “abusive” to deposit donations into a personal account, even if it is then transferred into a parish account.

The rules also say that receipts must be issued for all economic activity, including fundraising.

Meanwhile, sources said that there may be other parishes who were not in line with the Church’s policies on donations. While no criminal activity is suspected it has yet to be decided whether an audit will be carried out.

Archbishop Scicluna celebrated Mass in Marsaxlokk on Saturday evening in a mark of solidarity with parishioners. He has also contacted the Seguna family to offer support.