No bail for Slovakian national, wanted for fraud in her homeland

A Slovak woman who is wanted by the authorities in her home country to face fraud charges, has been denied bail after she was arrested in Malta on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW).

When proceedings on the EAW were called by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech this morning, the requested person, Andrea Györiová, 43, from Slovakia but residing in London, appeared with her lawyer Sonia Consiglio.

Györiová is believed to have been placed on the wanted persons list in 2011 after moving to London without settling a contractual debt of some €2,000.

Police Inspector Mario Cushieri and lawyer Vincienne Vella from the office of the Attorney General told the court that Györiová had been arrested upon her arrival from Luton, having come to visit her daughter in Malta.

The woman's lawyer told the court that Györiová had expressed an intention to pay the amount due and arrangements were being made to settle it. She had left Slovakia for London and had forgotten about the debt, the court was told. She lived in London for several years.

Consiglio requested bail for her client, who she said, had a fixed address and was living with her daughter in Malta.

But Magistrate Frendo Dimech noted that the crime is punishable by up to two years imprisonment, saying that the court needed to be shown hard evidence of all of the assertions made by the defence. “An EAW is not so easily overturned,” the magistrate said, pointing out that it had been issued by a competent counterpart of the court in Slovakia.

The prosecution objected to bail, explaining that the woman's address in Malta was not fixed and granting her bail would effectively defeat the purpose of the EAW.

Györiová's lawyer explained that the woman's creditor had filed legal proceedings in 2011 after she had to failed to repay, but by that time Györiová had left the country.

The magistrate pointed out that the EAW claimed that the woman had entered into a private loan contract with a person for a total of €2,000 but had only returned €331.

“She had not paid because she did not have any money there,” her lawyer said. “She left the country to find a job elsewhere.”

The court, having heard bail submissions from both sides, said that the woman had enjoyed sufficient time to fulfil her legal obligations, but had instead, absconded. It denied bail as Györiová had been wanted since 2008 and constituted a flight risk due to her lack of ties to the Maltese islands.