A 12-year-old son of a rich Libyan businessman stumbled upon a Facebook post which revealed that the family had been robbed €280,000 by their Indonesian housekeeper, a court heard his morning.  

The boy was in Germany when he discovered that his family’s 27-year-old housekeeper Elsih Rohman Balimulia had stolen the sum of money. The housekeeper uploaded photos of herself with bank notes at the penthouse she stayed in, which formed part of their residence.

It later transpired that she had passed the money over to Soraya Meyer, 50, who lived in a nearby villa, in Swieqi.

The compilation of evidence against the two women charged with theft and money laundering continued this morning.

Testifying through videoconferencing, the boy recounted how the images had immediately caught his eye and he took a screenshot using his mobile phone.  He said that as soon as he alerted his mother, some of his siblings who were also in Germany flew back to Malta.

The boy’s father, Dr Fathi Abdi Ali Ahhar, said that the money had gone missing from his safe which was located behind a wardrobe in his bedroom. 

The witness noted that he had kept €470,000 in his safe, but found some €280,000 missing.

“Our housekeeper was with us in Germany when we discovered the money had gone missing but I did not say a word to her. After a few days, she admitted her involvement in the theft and blamed Ms Meyer, who lived a short distance away from their house.

Documents presented in court revealed that Ms Meyer had transferred a large sum of money exceeding €40,000 via Western Union to Indonesia.

The businessman pointed out that when his daughter confronted Ms Meyer, the latter had given her €9,000. Subsequently when he came from abroad, he went to her house asking for the rest of the money and told the two that he was ready to withdraw criminal proceedings against them.

“She offered me €2,000 but I did not accept them since I wanted the full amount and not a part of the sum only,” the businessman said.

Magistrate Josette Demicoli said that there is enough evidence to place them under a bill of indictment.

A request for bail filed by Ms Meyer was upheld against a deposit of €10,000 and a number of conditions. The court noted that if she would breach the bail conditions her husband, who was to pay her deposit, would go to jail as he had offered himself as guarantor.

Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Simon Micallef Stafrace appeared for Ms Meyer and Ms Balimulia respectively, while Michael Sciriha and Lucio Sciriha appeared parte civile for the businessman.