Identitàgate: Six people registered as living at Gozo hotel which closed down in 2017

Lawyer Jason Azzopardi has revealed six people were registered as residing at the now-closed Xlendi Hotel.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, Azzopardi said the six people: Forgione Umberto, Laidma Veikko Erik, Orlando Concita, Stoica Ionut-Alexandru, Valletta Raimondo Gian-Michele and Marco Trione, were all issued an ID card with the residence address at the Xlendi Hotel, formerly Serena Hotel, despite it announcing its closure in 2017.

The site of the hotel is now owned by Gozitan construction magnate Joseph Portelli, who has already presented plans to the Planning Authority for the development of a 14-storey hotel. The PA has also approved an application for the building to be demolished.  

Azzopardi went on to say that Marco Trione’s is registered as living in room 404, “when it does not exist.”

“Go there, and tell me whether there is at least one door or one window in the building, let alone a room 404,” Azzopardi said.

The lawyer also pointed out the mentioned persons where on the electoral register with the hotel’s address, and were therefore eligible to vote in last June’s local council election.

Jason Azzopardi questioned “what went on between Joe Portelli and Identity Malta” through an unnamed broker, so that the ID cards could be issued with their registered address at the now-closed down hotel.

“I told you. The magisterial inquiry I opened on the corruption within Identity Malta, will take unexpected turn,” Azzopardi said.

READ ALSO: Identitàgate: Stolen identities, bribery and debauchery

Bribery and false documents

Azzopardi has claimed in a court filing requesting a magisterial inquiry that car dealer Bernard Attard, currently undergoing several criminal proceedings for fraud and money laundering unrelated to this scandal, had requested bribes running into thousands of euros from non-EU nationals to supply them with valid identity cards.

Azzopardi alleged that the man used the services of a woman, who worked at the Brexit desk at Identità, named in the sworn application as Marija Spiteri. The woman allegedly used to input the details of the foreign nationals into the Identità system and allow them into the office from a side door after hours to have their photo taken.   

False documents were used to substantiate the residency applications, which resulted in the issuance of valid ID cards to these foreign nationals. The ID cards were issued expeditiously. 

Attard and Spiteri are subject to freezing orders imposed by the courts in December 2021 and September 2022 respectively. The criminal cases against the pair that led to the issuance of the freezing orders are unrelated to the ID card scandal. Spiteri was listed as ‘unemployed’ by that time. 

READ ALSO: Identità denies issuing 18,000 fake ID cards, says internal probe passed onto police

The freezing order for Attard, aged 32 from Żebbuġ, pertains to a case instituted by the police against him December 2021. Attard was charged with misappropriating €1.6 million, fraud and money laundering. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case against him is ongoing.

Inspector Anthony Scerri had testified that the police had received two criminal complaints and a report from a notary, who reported that his stamp and signature were used on documents without his knowledge or consent. The latter case had originally been flagged by the Notarial Council in 2020 after it warned notaries to beware of false documents linked to the sale of apartments in St Julian’s. 

The other two victims reported losing €600,000 and €8,000 respectively at the hands of the accused.

Identità has distanced itself from corruption allegations, saying an internal inquiry had led to police investigations.