Civil servant accused of embezzlement and bribery over fishing fees

A senior principal and fisheries protection officer, Francis Caruana, 55 of Marsaxlokk, has been granted bail after pleading not guilty to seven charges, which include money laundering, embezzlement and bribery, in connection with a fraud investigation at the Fisheries Department.

Prosecuting inspector Jonathan Ferris told the court that following the appointment of a new director at the Fisheries Department, the same department held a number of internal audits, during which it transpired that for a number of years the nominal fee for the release of 'imported' fish was not being entirely handed over to the department.

Investigations led to Caruana, who has been suspended from work pending further investigations by the police.

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Caruana was Friday charged with money laundering and making use of funds he knew were derived illegally; embezzlement, when he accepted monies and gifts in order to do his job; extortion, when he charged different fees  to different people; defrauding the government of Malta, misappropriating government funds, accepting bribes and committing crimes he was duty bound as a civil servant to prevent.

The prosecution said that a nominal fee of €37-€39 was charged when fisheries officers release imported fish caught by fishermen, to be sold on the market. It transpired that when this release took place outside normal office hours, the officer signing the release was taking a cut from the nominal fee.

In this case the amount charged was changed depending who the fish was released to. Furthermore, Caruana failed to declare the money he made from the taking of the nominal fee in his tax return. Inspector Ferris requested the freezing of the accused's assets.

Caruana's defence counsel requested that €13,000 and any subsidy issued by the government are released to Caruana for his livelihood and that of his family. The lawyers also requested bail, emphasizing that the man was currently suspended from work and not earning money.

Inspector Ferris did not object to bail being granted to the accused, but asked the court to apply strict conditions.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberra upheld the prosecution's request for the freezing of Caruana's assets. The court also accepted the defence's request to release monies for the livelihood of the accused and his family. Caruana was granted bail on a deposit of €700 and a personal guarantee of €10,000.

Inspector Jonathan Ferris prosecuted while lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Marion Camilleri and Franco Debono appeared for the accused.

The alleged bribery, believed to be running into the hundreds of thousnads, could possibly span more than 20 years, and the police are still going through documentation to arrive to the total amount of money which was misappropriated. The police are still investigating the case and have not ruled out that other people would be arraigned in connection with the same case in the following weeks.