Police say Patrick Spiteri not found at his UK home

Maltese police officers who went to the United Kingdom to bring accused fraudster Patrick Spiteri to Malta for court hearings have reported that Spiteri was not found at his home.

Spiteri had been electronically tagged but paid a deposit to have the tag removed. He had to appear in court in Malta today to be charged with fraud.

A London court has refused Patrick Spiteri permission to appeal an extradition order that will see him face eight separate charges of fraud on a total of €7.4 million.

The 51-year-old was arrested in a police swoop on his wife’s country estate in 2014.

The former tax lawyer had been living permanently in the UK since January 2014 in a €4 million country estate owned by his partner’s mother, evading the Maltese courts on eight separate cases linked to fraud and misappropriation charges.

His partner, Lorna Maltby recently was reported to have arrived in the country earlier last week.

After his arrest Spiteri was granted bail against a security deposit of £70,000 and a strict 11pm to 4am curfew.

Spiteri absconded from Malta after claiming he was unable to be present in court due to an alleged illness, which led him to go to London for treatment for the onset of multiple sclerosis. He had been witnessed walking in Valletta, aided by a walking stick.

He never returned to face charges of defrauding an Italian businessman of almost €5 million in the court of Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, who at the request of the prosecution had to postpone the case indefinitely. Adding to the prosecution’s troubles was that investigators were spending a lot of time chasing the money trail in tax havens away from Malta and the fact that Spiteri changed his lawyers several times, which meant the new defence team had to be given time to study the case. 

In its original judgement, the Westminster Magistrates Court said that while Spiteri produced reports in relation to his health situation, “it appears he may be suffering from a form of chronic fatigue syndrome as well as stress and anxiety.”

Spiteri testified in five separate sittings over February and April 2015 when he denied every allegation of criminal conduct laid against him and provided details of his defence and challenges to every one of the serious allegations of dishonesty he faces.

Spiteri lived in Italy between 2007 and 2010 with his partner Maltby. Between April and July 2009, he was detained under house arrest over allegations of fraud. He then came to Malta where he lived here until 2014, before decamping to the Surrey home of Maltby’s mother – Elizabeth Spencer. 

Spiteri told the court that he is working on a part-time basis as a financial advisor in the UK, earning some £16,000 a month (€21,700). His partner is also in part-time employment, earning approximately £2,000 a month.

In the original decision, district judge John Zani accepted the requests for extradition on six of the eight cases, effectively meaning Spiteri had to be extradited to Malta to face the courts. 

Zani said each of the EAWs alleged that Spiteri was the author of a very substantial fraud, and that his ties to the UK were limited. “Albeit there will be some unfortunate hardship caused to Mr Spiteri, his partner and their children in the event that extradition is ordered, that of itself is insufficient for the request to be declined.” 

Zani said that Lorna Maltby’s mother would have to offer assistance, in the case of extradition, to ensure her young children can continue in their private education, which is costing the couple £2,500 a month.