An accounts executive is facing money laundering charges after allegedly siphoning €110,000 from her boss’s accounts into foreign accounts belonging to unknown persons she fell prey to after engaging in online chats, a court heard.

The case first landed before the Financial Crimes Investigation Department following a report filed at the Mosta police station in March, 2022 by a company representative, a day after a number of suspicious transactions concerning the company were flagged by a local bank. 

Those transactions showed that funds had been moved from the company’s accounts to several accounts in the name of one of their employees who worked as an accounts executive. 

The employee, a 44-year-old Mosta resident, had accompanied the company official to the police station when the report was filed. 

The next day, company representatives returned to the Mosta police station reporting that the suspect had owned up, explaining she was receiving online threats and was sending monies out of Malta. 

On Thursday, Inspector Christian Abela from the Financial Crimes Investigations Department testified about his work which resulted in charges against the woman for misappropriation, fraud, making fraudulent gains to the detriment of the company, document fraud, knowingly making use of a false document as well as money laundering.

She is pleading not guilty. 

One of her bosses testified that after being faced with the allegations, the woman had opened up to her colleagues about how she had ended up a victim of online romance fraud.

She had engaged in an online dating relationship with a stranger whom she never personally met.

But the relationship took an unexpected twist when she ended up threatened and blackmailed into sending substantial sums of money to the unknown persons.

Police had traced the movement of funds from two company accounts to three accounts in the accused’s name and then onto a number of accounts in Nigeria, Ukraine and China. 

The transactions took place between April 2021 and January 2022, explained Abela when testifying on Thursday. 

When interrogated in the presence of her lawyer, the woman had opted for her right to silence. 

Fabricated invoices

The police had also examined a number of vendor bills allegedly fabricated by the accused to cover up her tracks for accounting reconciliation purposes, giving the impression the payments had been affected to regular company suppliers. 

A company representative also testified on Thursday, presenting printouts and digital copies of bank statements concerning both the company and the accused’s accounts. 

He explained how invoices had been fabricated so that amounts would tally, making it difficult for the company accountant to suspect any foul play. 

Those invoices were addressed to suppliers who truly existed and who regularly served the company. 

“The suppliers existed, the transactions did not,” explained the witness, adding that all were foreign suppliers. 

A bank employee was also summoned to exhibit information about five accounts covering the period between January 2021 and January 2022. 

The case, presided over by Magistrate Rachel Montebello, continues. 

At the end of Thursday'shearing the court declared there was sufficient prima facie evidence for the accused to stand trial on indictment.

Attorney General lawyers Etienne Savona and Charmaine Abdilla prosecuted, together with Inspector Christian Abela. Lawyers René Darmanin and Alfred Abela are defence counsel. Lawyer Anne Marie Cutajar represented the company.