Police from the financial crime unit have raided the Sicily by Car rental franchise as part of a fraud investigation, seizing several card payment machines and other equipment. 

Sources said the police raided the Italian car rental company’s office at Malta International Airport on Tuesday.

The Maltese franchise holder is notorious entrepreneur and alleged kidnapper Christian Borg. 

Sources said the raid was conducted by the police Financial Crimes Investigations Department. Some 10 officers descended on the company’s airport office, seizing several EPOS machines and other equipment, including laptops and computers. 

It is understood that the raid was part of a wider fraud investigation involving the controversial car rental franchise in Malta. Sources said the police entered the premises and ordered everyone to leave. 

No arrests were made but the police left with the company’s equipment. 

Franchise owner Christian Borg is facing criminal charges for an alleged kidnapping.

When contacted, a spokesperson for the car-leasing company told Times of Malta they had no comments to make about the matter. 

Founded in 1963, Sicily by Car has a network of more than 60 offices across Italy and a car fleet of more than 20,000 vehicles. It took the market by storm in Malta, offering aggressively competitive prices. 

The parent company was forced to distance itself from Borg, after he was allegedly involved in a kidnapping. Borg, 30, of Swieqi, was arrested and charged in court in January last year in connection with a botched kidnapping in a case that is believed to have stemmed from the theft of cars.

Sicily by Car is a car rental franchise. Photo: Jonathan Borg

He is among a group of six who stand accused of kidnapping a man in January last year and threatening to torture him and rape his sister.

Borg and two of his associates are also the subjects of a money laundering investigation which is looking into how drugs may have been purchased from the dark web using cryptocurrency. 

Borg owns Princess Holdings Ltd, which has run the local franchise for Sicily by Car auto-rental service since 2020. He is also listed as the company's sole director. 

Borg resigned as director of his other companies, such as No Deposit Cars, following his arraignment. Those companies are now being run by other people. 

Borg used to be a client of Robert Abela when the prime minister used to practise law. The two were also involved in a property deal together.

He hit the headlines again last March following revelations by Times of Malta that his car hire-purchase company, No Deposit Cars Malta, made customers sign contracts accepting that their vehicles may have GPS tracking devices installed.

Scores of customers have filed judicial protests asking for their contracts with the company to be rescinded and calling for a police investigation into tax evasion and fraud.