An Egyptian barber accused of benefiting from an alleged residency card racket has been acquitted after a court ruled the prosecution did not sufficiently prove its case.
Moustafa Ata Moussa Darwish was among several third-country nationals investigated as part of a wider probe into allegations that Malta's identity and residency system had been exploited through sham marriages and forged documentation following Brexit.
However, Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi ruled that the prosecution's case against him fell apart because the application documents needed to prove the alleged fraud could not be produced in court.
The missing paperwork, including the original residence application containing Darwish's signature, found a police inspector telling the court that the file seized from Identità contained "practically nothing".
The court ultimately found that while the documents "must have existed" at some point, the prosecution failed to establish that they had been deliberately destroyed or explain why they could not be presented as evidence.
Brexit residency scheme raised red flags
The case formed part of a wider investigation that kicked off in November 2023, when Identità's Compliance Unit started looking into a number of cases involving Egyptian nationals who obtained residence permits by claiming to be married to British citizens.
Identità Chief Legal Officer Neil Harrison told the court that three such cases were initially flagged and passed on to police.
The applications relied on Article 18 of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, which allowed eligible UK nationals and their family members to obtain a new residence status confirming their continued right to live in Malta after Brexit. Darwish's case was one of those that raised red flags.
The court heard that Darwish arrived in Malta in 2018 as an irregular migrant rescued at sea together with 58 other migrants, carrying little more than a Samsung mobile phone.
After failing to obtain international protection, he later secured residency after declaring that he was married to a British national.
But when investigators tracked the woman down, the story quickly unravelled. She told police and the court that she had never met Darwish, had never been in a relationship with him, and had certainly never married him. She also denied ever sponsoring anyone to come to Malta.
Police later told the court that Darwish used the residence permit as a stepping stone to obtain a single permit.
The file that disappeared into thin air
The prosecution's biggest obstacle was the missing paperwork behind Darwish's application.
Police Inspector Lara Butters testified that when she obtained Darwish's Identità file, there was "practically nothing" inside it.
The inspector said she had no physical document showing that Darwish had signed the application for residency, except for when his biometrics had been taken.
This was the same for all the cases of Brexit sham marriages that were flagged.
The file briefly sparked a courtroom dispute after two Identità officials gave conflicting accounts of its whereabouts, prompting a perjury investigation.
One of the officials later said he had simply been "confused", and police ultimately ruled out any wrongdoing.
But one document did survive.
When shown the collection receipt for the residence card, Butters pointed out that, although applicants were required to sign upon collection, Darwish's signature was nowhere to be found.
The only signature on the receipt belonged to the Identità official who authorised the permit-Maria Rita Spiteri.
Spiteri was also the Identità official who used to input application details on the computer system for such cases.
That name would go on to feature prominently in the wider investigation into the alleged racket.
Wider racket allegations come under spotlight
Spiteri, whose signature appeared on the only document connected to Darwish's permit, is among the officials facing criminal proceedings over an alleged scheme to fraudulently issue residence permits and identity cards.
The allegations surfaced after lawyer Jason Azzopardi filed a 59-page request for a magisterial inquiry in August 2024, alleging that Spiteri and her partner, Bernard Attard, masterminded an organised racket involving around 18,000 fraudulent identity cards.
Spiteri and Attard were charged in January 2025 after spending months on police bail.
Investigators first became aware of Attard after several foreigners told police they had been introduced to him through a barber shop, reportedly the same shop where the man acquitted on Thursday had worked.
A Moroccan national testified that his barber referred him to Attard in 2021, telling him he could help secure a residence permit. A Libyan refugee gave similar testimony, saying he was introduced to Attard through a barber shop after arriving in Malta and fearing deportation.
The scheme allegedly meant that third-country nationals were able to obtain identity cards and residence permits through forged marriage certificates and other false documents.
The scheme allegedly meant that third-country nationals were able to obtain residence permits through forged marriage certificates and other false documents.
Azzopardi alleged that applicants were brought into Identità's Marsa offices after hours through a side entrance, where their photographs and fingerprints were processed away from normal procedures.
He claimed the cards were issued in a matter of weeks rather than the usual three to four months.
The cards would set each applicant back anywhere between €2,000 and €5,000.
The allegations remain unproven.
Alleged scheme linked to luxury parties
The racket was allegedly shielded by a series of debauched "cocaine and prostitute parties" organised by a Colombian woman known as 'Rosario'.
The 40-year old woman had bragged that it was easy for her to obtain work permits for her workers through her contacts at the government agency.
The private gatherings-held at villas in Wardija, Mellieħa and St Julian's-involved heavy amounts of drugs and prostitutes.
Rosario allegedly used these parties to buy the silence and cooperation of public officials.
Public officials were reportedly offered free invitations, large sums of money, and abundant cocaine in exchange for helping her obtain work permits for the prostitutes she employed and facilitating the broader Identità racket.
The alleged attendees included politicians from both sides of the house, professionals and government officials.
Scale of racket questioned
Although early claims referred to an 18,000-strong operation, questions have since been raised over the actual scale of the alleged fraud.
When Identità's head of compliance testified in March 2025, the court heard that only seven fraudulent identity cards and 16 related files had been uncovered at that stage.
Two other Egyptian nationals had admitted paying to obtain residence permits and were jailed six months each. One told the court he had paid €5,000.
In 2024, 47-year old Anthony Attard became the first person convicted in connection with the alleged racket after admitting to installing letterboxes at properties in Msida and Santa Venera to create addresses for non-EU nationals seeking residency.
He received a suspended sentence after the court took into account his cooperation with investigators.
Court says suspicious circumstances were not enough
Meanwhile, in Darwish's case, the court acknowledged that the missing documents created difficulties.
It said it was convinced the applications must have existed somewhere, but pointed out that suspicion alone could not replace evidence.
The prosecution had failed to show that the documents had been destroyed or otherwise prove why they could not be brought before the court.
It had also failed to produce any declaration signed by Darwish in which he claimed to be married.
The court therefore concluded that the prosecution had not managed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
Meanwhile, Identità has consistently denied any institutional involvement in wrongdoing, saying its Compliance and Expatriates Units carried out internal checks and passed information and evidence relating to "some individuals" to police for further investigation.
Lawyers Nicholas Mifsud and Tiziana Micallef appeared for Darwish.