Plasterer charged with defrauding €58,000 using stolen chequebook

A Birkirkara man has been remanded in custody after being accused of stealing a chequebook and using it to commit fraud to the tune of €58,000.

Inspector Christian Abela, together with Attorney General prosecutors Karl Muscat and Godwin Cini, accused painter and plasterer Emanuel Xerri, 47, from Birkirkara of fraud, making fraudulent gains in excess of €5,000, misappropriation, falsifying a signature on cheques, stealing a chequebook, money laundering and breaching a suspended sentence.

Xerri pleaded not guilty to the charges.

His lawyer requested bail. The prosecution objected, pointing to the accused’s voluminous criminal record. The accused had been jailed in the past, submitted Muscat, arguing that the charges were grave, involving the falsification of documents and signatures, fraud of €58,000 and money laundering.

“Here we are talking about charges which are serious,” said the prosecutor, adding that there were civilian witnesses including victims who had yet to testify. “At this early stage, the prosecution is asking that he be remanded in custody.”

The defence argued that bail was a right and should be the rule not the exception.

The court, after hearing the parties make bail submissions, denied bail due to the fact that there was a number of civilian witnesses who had not yet testified. “As the accused had now been officially charged with the offences, there is a real fear of him tampering with evidence,” ruled the magistrate.