Witnesses testify on Florinda Sultana’s company operations

The money laundering case against restaurateurs Florinda Sultana and Albert Buttigieg continued on Tuesday

Albert Buttigieg (left) and Florinda Sultana (right)
Albert Buttigieg (left) and Florinda Sultana (right)

A money-laundering prosecution against restaurateurs Florinda Sultana and Albert Buttigieg continued on Tuesday.

Police officers from the money laundering unit testifed on their findings.

Sultana is the daughter-in-law of Darren Debono, who is facing separate money laundering charges over a €30 million fuel smuggling ring from Libya to Italy.

A former clerk at Debono’s company World Water Fisheries testified seeing Sultana reporting to Debono, while Anthony McKay and his son Marvin testified about the transfer of ownership of the Valletta restaurant Debono ran, Scoglitti, now named Porticello since its blacklisting by the United States treasury department.

McKay said he leased out the restaurant to Debono due to a debt with World Water Fisheries. The contract was eventually transferred onto another individual. 

Another witness, Saviour Attard, testified on a loan contract with Porticello’s last chef patron, Marvin Schembri, to his company MS1 Catering Limited. Schembri later resigned and transferred his shares to Florinda Sultana in February 2020, who assumed the debt of the loan.

Lawyer Stefano Filletti was defence counsel. Inspectors Joseph Xerri, James Turner and Omar Caruana prosecuted, assisted by AG lawyer Antoine Agius Bonnici.

The next sitting will take place on 9 November at 12:30pm. Witnesses testify on Florinda Sultana’s company operations.