A former company manager was sentenced to four years in prison while his partner received a suspended sentence after the two were accused of charges relating to fraud and money laundering.

Brian Buttigieg was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of €30,000. Joanne Cutajar received a two-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay a €20,000 fine. The two were found guilty of laundering money from the company they worked for.

The General Manager of Food Chair Limited, John Bonello Ghio, told the court that Buttigieg used to use the cash register to submit fake transactions. The accused, who at the time was manager at the KFC in Gzira, used to get money from clients without issuing a receipt.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, who presided over the case, heard how all of these accusations were proven thanks to a CCTV recording. The witness presented documents and photos from the security cameras which date back to June 2011.

It appears that Buttigieg had managed to rake in some €63,000 in monthly payments of €4,300. Even before, when the former manager used to work at the KFC at the Airport, he had stolen €160,000.

An internal investigation carried out by the company showed that there was another employee defrauding the company. It was established that Joanne Cutajar defrauded the company of no less than €12,000.

The court heard how the management had confronted Buttigieg, but only three hours after the meeting, the accused had stolen some €175. When speaking to the management, the accused proposed that he pays €25,000, a sum which according to the company, is much less than the money which was actually stolen.

An HR manager at the company testified that ever since Buttigieg left, the sales went up by €5,000 each month.

Meanwhile, Cutajar testified that she was in a relationship with Buttigieg who had divulged how he was making the money. He had told her that he used to list the items the clients want, delete the order but still take the client's money. At the end of each working day, he would pick up the cash difference.

A couple of weeks later, Buttigieg was giving Cutajar sums of money to deposit into her account. She claimed she never knew where the money was coming from.

She told the court that the money was used to pay up the loan and decorate the house.

Bank documentation showed that the couple was activly using their account with frequent deposits.

The magistrate found the couple guilty.