A court has decreed that there is enough evidence against former Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne, current Central Bank governor Edward Scicluna and a host of others for them to stand trial in connection with the Vitals hospitals concession.
Magistrate Leonard Caruana made his prima facie decree this morning in the Valletta law courts.
The prima facie is a declaration by the presiding magistrate that there is enough evidence ‘at first glance’ for the charges against the accused – in this case Fearne, Scicluna and 12 others – to stick.
If the magistrate finds that there is such evidence, then the case will continue and the Attorney General may, when it feels that it has presented all the witnesses and evidences that it has in the case, formally indict the accused.
If however the magistrate finds that there isn’t enough evidence against the accused at this stage, then they are automatically discharged from the case. This, however, would not preclude the possibility of further investigations leading to criminal charges in the future.
This, however, was not the case on Wednesday as the Magistrate agreed with the prosecution that there is enough evidence for all of the accused to stand trial. It is now up to the Attorney General to decide when to formally indict the accused, at which point then the compilation of evidence will conclude and the case will move on to trial.
Facing charges together with Fearne and Scicluna are former permanent secretaries Alfred Camilleri and Joseph Rapa, current permanent secretary Ronald Mizzi, adjudication committee members James Camenzuli, Manuel Castagna, and Robert Borg, financial controller Kenneth Deguara, and five lawyers: Kevin Deguara, Jean Carl Farrugia, Aron Mifsud Bonnici, Deborah Anne Chappell, and Bradley Gatt.
The group are charged with fraud and misappropriation, with Fearne and Scicluna being also accused of making fraudulent gain through abuse of their office. Some are also charged with money laundering.
They have all pleaded not guilty, and all contested the prima facie in a lengthy court sitting last week.
It is rare for someone accused in a major case to be discharged at the prima facie stage, but it is exactly what happened in the parallel case to this: while magistrate Rachel Montebello found enough evidence against former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, his ex-chief of staff Keith Schembri and former Minister Konrad Mizzi for the case to continue – not necessarily a surprise as none of the trio contested the prima facie; she discharged the company Sciacca Grill from the case.
10:19: The big decree is next: Magistrate Caruana rules that there is enough evidence for ALL of the accused to be indicted and for the case against them to continue.
The sitting is over, and the case will continue on 22 August.
10:18: Magistrate Caruana has also accepted the prosecution’s request for freezing orders against some of the accused: Kevin Deguara and Jean Carl Farrugia will have €20 million frozen.
The magistrate refused freezing order requests against Kenneth Deguara, Deborah Ann Chappell, and DF Advocates but issued a temporary freezing order instead.
10:16: On whether certain documents should be expunged from the case, Magistrate Caruana said that he was abstaining from taking a decision at this stage of the case but reserved the right to rule on the matter at a later stage should the defence wish to bring it up again.
10:14: His first decision is to accept a request by the prosecution for the accused to register their contact details with the court: Every accused must declare their telephone numbers and remain disposed to being contacted by the prosecution. They have to pay a personal guarantee of €10,000 to ensure this.
10:06: Magistrate Caruana will read out his final decisions rather than the full decree. He is reading out multiple decrees.
10:00: We are live in a somewhat cramped court room 20 - not the usual courtroom, as Hall 22 is currently being used for a jury. Magistrate Leonard Caruana is currently going through a roll call of the accused and their legal representatives.