Man accused of €60,000 social benefits fraud

A man has been denied bail after he was charged with forging documents to obtain Maltese citizenship and then claiming €60,000 in social security benefits.

Valletta-born Pakistani national Danyal Qadar Dad Tarar, 40, of Sliema was arraigned before magistrate Neville Camilleri this morning and charged with fraud, forgery of documents, making use of falsified documents and making a false declaration to a public authority.

Inspectors Omar Zammit and Geoffrey Cutajar presented the man under arrest, telling the court that the investigation took place after the conclusion of a magisterial inquiry.

It is understood that this inquiry relates to his cousin, Ahmad Aziz, and is also about the use of falsified documents for citizenship.

The prosecution alleged that the man, who told the court that he was unemployed but performed voluntary work, had fraudulently claimed over €60,000 in benefits since 2009.

Tarar pleaded not guilty.

Defence lawyer Roberto Montalto asked the court to grant bail. He argued that the prosecution already had preserved the testimony of third parties in the acts of the magisterial inquiry.

The defence insisted that the man had no prior convictions and had established himself in Malta over the span of many years, and had nowhere else to flee to.

The court, however, opted to remand the man in custody, also ordering an asset freeze on the man, pending the outcome of the case.