Man on remand claims €10,000 of his were stolen from prison

A man recently charged with failing to declare €160,000 in cash he was carrying on a flight to Istanbul, has claimed to have had €10,000 stolen from him in prison, during a second arraignment for tax evasion today.

Ali Muuse Igaale, from Somalia, who had been charged with transporting an excessively large amount of cash out of the country on August 23, was further charged earlier today with tax evasion.

Prosecuting Police Inspector Oriana Spiteri told magistrate Gabriella Vella that the charges were related to tax evasion, but also that the origin of the €160,000 he was carrying in his suitcase, remained unknown.

The court also heard how when he was denied bail upon his arraignment in August, Igaale was remanded in custody in prison. He was still in possession of €10,000 which had not been affected by the charges.

Igaale’s lawyers, Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb, told the court that when he asked for the money to be returned to him, he was told that the cash had gone missing. He subsequently filed a police report.

The defence requested bail for their client, arguing that he had been living in Malta for nine years and had strong family, community and business ties to the island.

The court however turned down the request for bail.