Adrian Hillman arrives in Malta to face money-laundering charges

Adrian Hillman, the former Allied Newspapers managing director has arrived in Malta as the subject of an extradition request by Maltese authorities.

Upon arrival, he went straight to the Financial Crimes and Investigation Department, accompanied by his lawyer Stefano Filletti.

He will be facing charges of money laundering and graft linked to the purchase of printing machines by the Allied Group when he was managing director.

Prime Minister Robert Abela had confirmed last April that Hillman is to be repatriated to Malta for the start of the judicial process in his regard.

Sources close to the investigation had told MaltaToday that the police and the office of the Attorney General sent a detailed request to their UK counterparts seeking Hillman’s extradition to face justice in Malta.

An investigation has revealed how Hillman received €650,000 from former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff Keith Schembri, who owns the company Kasco that supplied the printing press. But testimony given by police suggests that Hillman could have received some €1 million in unexplained payments through offshore companies.

Earlier this year, the police charged 11 people, including Vince Buhagiar, another former managing director at Allied Newspapers, on multiple counts of money laundering, forgery, fraud and corruption.

Charges were also filed against Schembri’s business partners and his accountants, Brian Tonna and Karl Cini from Nexia BT.

The owners of MFSP, renamed Zenith Finance, were also charged for handling the investment accounts of Hillman and Buhagiar through which the alleged graft money flowed.