A business associate of Yorgen Fenech who is undergoing money laundering proceedings in Malta, has been arrested in Italy and transferred to France where he is being questioned by the authorities, a court was told on Wednesday.

The reasons for the arrest were not disclosed.

The proceedings against Nicholas Cachia were due to resume on Wednesday morning but have been put off indefinitely in view of the developments abroad.

Cachia, 47, along with his father Joseph were arraigned last August, along with a number of other business associates of Fenech, with links to a Maltese gaming company called Glimmer Ltd, all facing charges of money laundering.

The younger man was further charged with misappropriation and fraud. Charges stemmed from an investigation by the police Financial Crimes Investigation Department.

Prosecuting inspector Brian Paul Camilleri had told the court that electronic data and communication, including texts between Fenech and others, pointed in the direction of money laundering.

As proceedings continued, both father and son were granted bail.

But proceedings have now stalled. An inspector from the police International Relations Unit told the court that on March 23, the police received communication from the Questura di Siracusa via the Maltese Embassy in Rome informing them that Nicholas Cachia had been arrested in Italy under an arrest warrant issued by the French authorities.

On May 16, further communication from the Foreign Affairs office informed them that the man had actually been surrendered to the relative authorities in France.

The man’s lawyers, Kathleen Calleja Grima and Matthew Brincat, told the court, presided over by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, that their client had been transferred from Syracuse to France where a number of other persons had apparently been interrogated and released.

The lawyers’ immediate concern was the fact that they were so far unable to communicate with their client and were still to assess the way forward.

In light of this information, the court adjourned the case sine die in view of the proceedings pending against him abroad.

AG lawyer Karl Muscat assisted prosecuting Inspector Brian Paul Camilleri.