Lawyer says Adrian Hillman ‘always intended to come to Malta voluntarily'

Former Allied Newspapers Managing Director Adrian Hillman wants to return to Malta to clear his name, according to his lawyer.

Hillman, who is wanted by the Maltese police on charges of money laundering and corruption, is the subject of an extradition request from the UK where he currently lives.

Maltese police are expected to press criminal charges against Hillman after the conclusions of a magisterial inquiry into the purchase of three multi-million-euro printing machines by Progress Press from Keith Schembri’s company Kasco Ltd a decade ago. Hillman is alleged to have received kickbacks from Schembri and laundered them. According to a leaked Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit report, Schembri allegedly filtered over €650,000 to Hillman in over 30 “suspicious transactions” between 2011 and 2015. Schembri, together with, financial advisers Nexia BT and Zenith Finance, formerly MFSP, are facing a number of criminal charges as a result of the investigation.

In a statement on Saturday, Hillman’s lawyer, Stefano Filletti said that Hillman had cooperated and engaged with the authorities for the past two months and had “always intended to come to Malta voluntarily”.

“From March, Adrian has immediately cooperated with the authorities and has engaged with them constantly for the past two months. He has made his whereabouts known to them from day one. This is simply because he has always intended to come to Malta voluntarily and clear his name of these accusations. He intends to fully cooperate with the authorities and is not contesting the extradition. The extradition process itself takes time and he will be returning.”

Read More: Adrian Hillman extradition delayed after UK authorities seek more paperwork