Updated 2.15pm

Three men were granted bail after pleading not guilty to allegedly siphoning some €250,000 through illicit winnings to the detriment of a local gaming company.

The three Bulgarians, Miroslav Nikolaev Minchev, 36, a delivery man living at San Ġwann, Viktor Iliev Leondiev, 32, a former operations manager living at Birkirkara and Dobri Enev, a 27-year-old delivery man from Sliema, were jointly charged with defrauding and robbing Casino Malta Ltd. 

In January, company officials had grown suspicious after one of their employees and two other persons registered abnormal winnings, prompting the company to file a report at the St Julian’s district police station. 

Investigations led by prosecuting Inspector Joseph Xerri had focused upon Minchev, then employed by the company, monitoring his movements as well as those of the other two suspects. 

Those investigations ultimately led to the trio’s arrest and to the men’s arraignment on Tuesday afternoon, during which they pleaded not guilty to fraudulent gain as well as aggravated theft over a three-year period dating back to October 2017.

Minchev was also separately charged with forging or tampering with a document issued under the Gaming Act.

Defence lawyer Joseph Giglio requested bail, arguing that all three co-accused had cooperated with investigators and noting that their travel documents were in police custody. 

That request was not objected to by the prosecution who informed the court that the three had been on police bail since January and had always abided by conditions laid down by the police. 

Dr Giglio further pointed out that all three had lived in Malta for a number of years and all were currently employed. 

“The main contestation relates to the issue of the amount being claimed by the Casino,” said Dr Giglio.

After hearing these submissions, the court, presided over by magistrate Audrey Demicoli, upheld the request for bail against a personal guarantee of €8,000, the signing of the bail book on a daily basis and an order to abide by a curfew.

The court also issued a freezing order over the men’s assets. 

Lawyers Noel Bianco and Roberta Bonello were also defence counsel. Lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell appeared parte civile for Casino Malta Ltd.