An unemployed woman sobbed as she pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in court on Tuesday.

“I have nothing! Will they take my home too?” wept Maria Magdalena Sultana, a 45-year old former medical assistant from Ghaxaq, as she denied involvement in money laundering and other financial crimes.

Her lawyer, Jonathan De Maria objected to the prosecution’s standard request for a freezing order upon all assets of the suspect, in terms of money laundering laws.

“I object forcefully because this is a witch hunt,” he said, arguing that nowadays the prosecution, screening itself behind the allegations of money laundering, was calling for such court orders to effectively freeze all assets of the accused.

The mechanism meant that all assets would remain frozen pending court proceedings “which can drag on for ten years,” the lawyer argued, while the woman sobbed loudly.

The presumption of innocence was a sacrosanct right in favour of the accused,  the lawyer went on, adding that the court itself was to ascertain that it would not breach any fundamental rights of the accused.

In this case, he said, the woman got by on social benefits and a €4,000 cheque she had just cashed to settle her rent and utility bills, had also been seized by police officers during the search at her home, Magistrate Monica Vella was told.

“Will they take my home too?” the woman cried, prompting a warning by the magistrate to keep quiet.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” the accused wept, holding her hands to her face.

Lawyer Sean Scerri De Caro from the attorney general's office, pointed out that in money laundering cases, the onus of proof shifted onto the accused.

Moreover, in this case, the accused had a criminal past.

“How can you judge me!” the woman cried out, prompting another warning by the magistrate who told her to control herself.

After hearing submissions about the freezing order, the court upheld the request, upon all assets both movable and immovable of the accused, save for the annual allowance statutory allowance of just over €13,000.

As the hearing moved on to the issue of bail, the woman’s lawyer said that in view of certain matters he wished to explain, he would rather make submissions behind closed doors.

The court upheld that request and the rest of the hearing continued out of public earshot.

Inspector Joseph Xerri prosecuted, assisted by AG lawyers Scerri De Caro and Cinzia Alamango.