Nurses union head Paul Pace was on Wednesday charged with fraud and misappropriation.

He appeared in court for the first time in front of magistrate Monica Vella in relation to an investigation which allegedly saw him pocket €4,000 for overtime work he never carried out.

However, the session was marked by procedural ambiguity and administrative lapses which raised questions about how the case has been handled so far.

During the hearing, the court was informed that the case had previously been assigned to another bench, which allegedly recused itself. However, neither the prosecution nor the defence received any formal decree confirming the recusal from that previous court. The magistrate noted that upon receiving the case file, no such decree was included, and this remained the case as of the current hearing.

Inspector Wayne Rodney Borg appeared as a witness in relation to the same case.

The court heard how police were first informed of the matter in September 2023, after the Health Ministry received internal reports about potentially unauthorized payments made during a leave of absence in August of that year.

The ministry allegedly referred the case to the police after being advised by then-Permanent Secretary Joseph Chetcuti. It was revealed that no formal disciplinary action had initially been taken, but legal consultation led to the referral being made to the Attorney General, due to implications under the Public Service Commission's standards in both 2022 and 2023

Payroll and attendance under scrutiny

The police began investigating from 2021, reaching out to Mater Dei Hospital for records of Pace's payments and attendance logs. The investigation revealed certain salary components, including 13 salary payments and on-call allowances, were disbursed under questionable circumstances.

A private audit company was also engaged to assist with compiling a full report.

The police found that Pace had received a salary of approximately €30,900 in 2021. He was reportedly on-call for just one hour per week, yet benefited from payments typically reserved for frontline health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 17 separate instances, it was found that he was not on duty when he should have been, amounting to €2,607.62 in overpaid hours. On the issue of on-call payments, Pace allegedly received €1,488.36 more than what he was entitled to in one year alone. The investigation also found that no proper internal control mechanisms were in place to prevent such misallocations.

During questioning on 22 March, Pace admitted the discrepancies were an error, insisting it was not his responsibility to verify the payments. He claimed it was the government payroll department's duty to monitor timesheets and payment structures. He cooperated with the police and even reimbursed the overpayment-around €4,096.67.

Despite this cooperation, the defence has maintained a plea of not guilty and is contesting the charges in full.

Superintendent James Grech testified the Permanent Secretary had taken a personal interest in the case, particularly after it had been reported in the media.

Paul Pace is being represented by lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell.