Rita Schembri should have been in the dock, not Joseph Borg, a defence lawyer told a court yesterday.

Rita Schembri is the director general of the Directorate for Internal Auditing and Investigations, and a member of the EU’s anti fraud office, Olaf. Joseph Borg, 75 of Swieqi, is accused  with blackmailing her last November by threatening to report her.

Schembri, of Bugibba, said that on 21 November she filed a report with the police commissioner about an email she received. She had done so on legal advice.

Inspector Chris Pullicino, prosecuting, said it was right to have a whistleblower act but it was not right to threaten. Borg, he said, had led Schembri to believe that he would tell about her and then that he was already in contact with Olaf.

The inspector said he asked Borg what would have happened had Schembri done what he wanted, to pay back money to others. Borg’s reply was that he probably would have stopped there and done nothing else. This made it difficult to determine what Borg’s intention was.

Defence lawyer Edward De Bono said they had to consider the facts emerging from the charges. There is a whistleblower who felt conscience stricken and that Rita Schembri should pay back the money to two persons whom she had defrauded by sub-letting Borg’s restaurant.

Dr De Bono said Borg had made no gain by acting honestly and telling Schembri she should return the money to the two persons. He had not asked her for anything for himself.

Rita Schembri, he added, had been found guilty in court of defrauding Borg. She should have been in the dock, not Joseph Borg, he said.