Two brothers of Paceville entrepreneur ‘Lilu King’ were arrested in the corridors of the Valletta law courts on Monday, minutes after a witness testified that they had approached him last week to influence his testimony. 

The witness, whose name was banned by the court, was testifying in proceedings against Mohamed Ali Ahmed Elmushraty, who is charged with money laundering following a three-month police probe into his lavish lifestyle and suspected involvement in an organized crime group. 

In a previous sitting, the court heard how Elmushraty drove several expensive vehicles and flaunted his cash on social media, claiming to spend €5000 a month on his extravagant lifestyle.

But to Maltese authorities, Elmushraty was “like a ghost”: he had no property or vehicles registered to his name, no job and no driving licence.  

A former business partner of his testified about a Paceville restaurant the two had leased in 2019, going 50/50 on the joint venture. 

However, the licence to run the commercial establishment was issued in the witness’s name while the VAT registration was done in their company’s name, the reason being that Elmushraty was still waiting to obtain a VAT number. 

Defence lawyer Franco Debono pointed out that the witness ought to be cautioned, since he was part of the same business transactions which allegedly underpinned money laundering charges against his own client. 

After investing some €25,000 in refurbishing the premises, they had to stop operations during the COVID-19 lockdown, resuming operations in August 2020. 

But the witness wanted to pull out of the venture and sent an email to the landlord, the Hugo Chetcuti group, to that effect, requesting them to convert the contract in Elmushraty’s name. 

Questioned further about why he wanted to pull out of the business, the witness said that they were constantly getting enforcement notices because of social distancing breaches, or music that was too loud or patrons caught breaching smoking bans.

Police were constantly calling at the establishment. 

Asked who was responsible for ensuring that relative laws were properly observed, the witness said that the place was run by a manager and staff, not just Elmushraty, who also went there morning and evening oversee the operation. 

The St Julian’s police used to tell the witness that the establishment was attracting “l-imbarazz kollu ta’ Malta.” 

However, the witness said he had never seen anything untoward going on at the restaurant. 

He did notice that people would come for “meetings” with Elmushraty early afternoon, when business was usually still quiet. 

Pressed further on those “meetings”, the witness said that he never saw Elmushraty exchange “any paper or bag” while he sat on the shop sofas in private discussion.

Pressure on witness

Many questions down the line, the prosecution told presiding Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech that they sensed that the witness appeared to be afraid, not quite revealing the same details he had first given police before testifying in court. 

When asked directly whether he had been approached by anyone prior to testifying, the witness said that he had received a call from the accused’s ex girlfriend who lived in Italy, telling him to speak to Elmushraty. 

That happened after Elmushraty’s arraignment. 

He had also received some calls from a private number which he had not answered, explained the witness. 

But he never spoke to the accused. 

Then on June 7, the Sette Giugno public holiday, he received a call from one of Elmushraty’s brothers, saying that they wanted to talk to him. 

Soon after, Elmushraty’s two brothers arrived at the Waterfront, where the witness was working, in a taxi.

The brothers wanted the witness to testify that a Range Rover bearing the registration plate “Lilu King” belonged to him. 

Elmushraty had paid for the vehicle but had it registered in the witness’s name, because at the time Elmushraty did not have a Maltese ID card, explained the witness. 

“It was bought for €100,000 but I did not pay a single penny,” he said. 

He had previously asked “Lilu” to transfer the vehicle to his own name, since there were some €11,000 in fines clocked on it and the witness did not wish to have anything to do with it. 

But there was a garnishee order that was hindering the transfer. 

As the grilling continued, the prosecution requested the court to declare the witness a hostile one, since he appeared to be holding back certain information. 

His testimony was suspended and he was warned not to communicate with anyone about the case. 

A representative of the Tax Commissioner then testified briefly, saying that Elmushraty was not registered for tax purposes. 

Just as her testimony ended, prosecuting Inspector Mark Anthony Mercieca informed the court that the accused’s brothers who happened to be outside the courtroom waiting for one of them to testify, had just been arrested on the basis of what the previous witness had said. 

They were given their legal rights and taken into police custody. 

The case continues next week. 

Inspector Mark Anthony Mercieca prosecuted alongside Alfredo Mangion and Tonjoe Farrugia, assisted by AG lawyers Antoine Agius Bonnici and Dejan Darmanin.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Francesca Zarb represented Elmushraty.