A court has issued a revised freezing order targeting assets held by accountant Brian Tonna, his former associates, and several of his companies, as part of a broader corruption investigation stemming from high-profile government deals during the Muscat administration.
More than €6.3 million in assets belonging to accountant Brian Tonna, his close business associates, and a network of companies connected to Nexia BT, are now subject to a revised freezing and potential confiscation order.
The freezing order was issued following a court decree issued earlier this month.
The order, delivered by Magistrate Leonard Caruana in the Court of Magistrates on 2 May 2025, narrows the scope of an earlier, more general freezing directive issued in 2021.
The revised order identifies specific amounts and entities now earmarked for potential confiscation, should a conviction follow.
Brian Tonna, a central figure in several criminal proceedings related to corruption and financial misconduct, has had €2.1 million in assets frozen under the decree. The updated freezing order also targets long-time collaborator and accountant Karl Cini, with €200,000 in assets listed for potential confiscation.
The court decree specifies the individual amounts tied to a wider group of entities formerly operated by Tonna and his associates, most of which had been operating under the Nexia BT umbrella.
These include: €894,005 connected to BT International Ltd, €14,242.50 in the name of Nexia BT Ltd, €80,000 attributed to Nexia BT Advisory Services Ltd, €1,361,995 from BTI Management Ltd, €721,121 linked to SPX Services Ltd and €750,502 attributed to Willerby Trade Inc., a British Virgin Islands-registered firm.
The total value of frozen assets across all individuals and companies exceeds €6.3 million.
The court specified that only these listed amounts will remain subject to the freezing and potential confiscation order, with all other property held by the accused no longer affected.
The freezing directive was initially imposed in March 2021 by Magistrate Charmaine Galea, as part of a wider effort to secure assets believed to be derived from criminal activity.
The new ruling also introduces a temporary freezing order, applying specifically to property in the hands of third parties that may also be subject to confiscation. In this context, the court ordered an additional temporary freeze of €100,000 against Tonna and €22,000 against SPX Services Ltd.
The accused individuals and entities have been under investigation for their roles in multiple high-profile government transactions that have since come under scrutiny, including Malta's Individual Investor Programme which is under review following an ECJ ruling, and the controversial hospitals concession, which was annulled by the courts after being ruled fraudulent.
Tonna, along with Cini and other associates, had operated Nexia BT, a financial and advisory firm that played a central role in several government-linked business deals during the tenure of former prime minister Joseph Muscat.
The firm came under widespread criticism following the publication of the Panama Papers.
While some of the accused, including Tonna, face ongoing criminal charges, no final verdict has yet been delivered. The freezing orders serve to preserve assets that may eventually be confiscated by the state, pending the outcome of the judicial process.
Court proceedings in relation to this case are ongoing.