A woman who was sought by the police for alleged money laundering was arrested on Tal-Barrani road by officers who drew their weapons, a court heared on Thursday.
Florinda Sultana, was arrested late one November night last year when the car she was seated in as passenger was blocked by armed police officers.
Details of the arrest emerged in court when money laundering proceedings resumed against Sultana and former bank official Albert Buttigieg who formerly fronted companies operating the Porticello and Capo Mulini restaurants allegedly involved in laundering funds linked to oil smuggling.
Both Sultana and Buttigieg were targeted in an extensive police operation which cracked down on an alleged €30 million fuel smuggling racket with suspected links to the two fish restaurants owned by Darren Debono, Sultana’s stepfather.
But the dynamics of Sultana’s arrest emerged when two officers of the police Rapid Intervention Uni testified about how they had received instructions from superintendent Frank Anthony Tabone to intercept a black Smart car inside which was a person targeted by an arrest warrant.
The suspect vehicle was spotted along Tal-Barrani Road, Żejtun at around 1am on November 22 last year.
The police maneuvered their vehicle so as to block the suspect's car.
The two dark-uniformed officers then stepped out, approaching the driver and passenger inside the Smart car, one on either side, faces barely visible as they drew their firearms.
“Did you put the weapon to her [Florinda’s] head?” asked defence lawyer Stefano Filletti.
“No,” came the curt reply of the first officer, explaining that he had approached the driver and only drew out his weapon until he made sure that the situation was safe.
“For my safety,” said the officer, repeating that phrase when challenged by Filletti who questioned the officers’ tactics.
“Is that how arrests are carried out nowadays?” pressed on the lawyer, remarking that in the darkness of the night the badges on the officers’ dark uniforms would be barely visible.
“Once I saw that the driver’s hands were on the steering wheel, I put down my weapon,” explained the officer.
His colleague said that the arrest had proceeded smoothly, without any “complications.”
“They obeyed,” he said.
“And did you point your weapon at them?” asked Filletti, as Sultana mimicked the gun placed at her forehead.
“No, I did not,” the witness firmly replied, adding that they were trained to hold their firearms close to their chest.
“But I’m telling you loud and clear that it is being alleged that the weapon was put to her head,” insisted the accused’s lawyer.
“And I’m telling you loud and clear [that the answer is] no,” retorted the officer.
Asked whether they had been instructed to handle the arrest as one involving “dangerous suspects” the officer said that he would draw out his weapon even if had to intervene in “some disagreement between a man and a woman.”
“Careful with what you’re saying,” interrupted Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech.
“It obviously depends on the situation,” said the officer, clarifying his previous answer, while Sultana listened on, visibly moved as she sat through those police testimonies.
Maltese names featured on list
Earlier in the sitting the defence objected to the presentation of a Guidance Note issued by Malta’s Sanctions Monitoring Board on March 3, 2018 recommending “that all economic operators exercise enhanced due diligence when dealing with entities and bodies” listed by OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department.
The UN Security Council had passed a resolution forcefully condemning attempts to steal or misappropriate natural resources from Libya, said Neville Aquilina, chairman of the board, who explained that as UN member state, Malta was bound to send out this warning “so that no one would have anything to do with bad money.”
Some animated discussion ensued over the fact that the list of persons was attached to a US executive order that was not legally binding under Maltese jurisdiction.
Asked whether Sultana and Buttigieg featured on that list, the witness replied that they did not, just as the companies they were associated with, namely Nesvan Company Limited, MS1 Catering Limited and Luzzu Catering Limited.
But Darren Debono and some other Maltese names did feature on that list.
Nor was there any UN or EU sanction in their regard.
“But what if I tell you that there was an adverse reaction prompted by that Guidance Note?” pointed out Filletti, adding that banking services would likely grind to a halt.
“OFAC sanctions are likely to place their targets with backs against the wall. That happens but not because of our Guidance Note,” rebutted Aquilina.
The case continues in January.
Inspectors Joseph Xerri, James Turner and Omar Caruana are prosecuting, assisted by AG lawyers Antoine Agius Bonnici, Sean Xerri de Caro and Andrea Zammit.
Lawyers Stefano Filletti and Martina Cuschieri are defence counsel.