Court hears submissions on Maksar brother's latest bail request

A judge is set to rule on a bail request filed by one of the men accused of supplying the bomb used to murder journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, after both prosecution and defence made their final submissions this morning.

Mr. Justice Giovanni Grixti heard submissions on Monday with respect to a bail request filed by Robert Agius, one of the Maksar brothers, who are indicted in connection with the murders of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and lawyer Carmel Chircop.

Agius has been remanded in custody since his arrest in February 2021. This latest bail request was filed after Homicide Squad Superintendent Keith Arnaud testified in a case instituted by the businessman alleged to have financed Caruana Galizia's murder, Yorgen Fenech, before Madame Justice Audrey Demicoli, informing the court that unnamed third parties had also featured in the murder investigation, but had not been identified to the defence.

Agius’ defence lawyer, Alfred Abela, submitted that a number of pieces of evidence requested by the defence had not been exhibited by the prosecution.

Abela described the prosecution’s fear of Agius absconding from the islands as “assumptions.” He pointed out that his clients had not even been spoken to by the police before Vince Muscat “once upon a time, woke up and named my clients…but three full years down the line, didn’t I have all the time in the world to escape or tamper with evidence?”

Robert Agius also distanced himself from the drugs Adrian Agius was alleged to have been discovered in possession of, Abela told the court. “Whatever was found in my client’s brother’s possession has nothing to do with my client.”

Abela also remarked that given the complex planning that went into the murder, it was unlikely that Agius would make the rookie error of keeping a money counting machine at his house.

“My client has a wife and three young children, why would he escape, especially in view of the fact that there is evidence pointing to his innocence?” added the lawyer.

Prosecutor George Camilleri, appearing for the Office of the Attorney General, exhibited a recent constitutional judgement handed down by Mr. Justice Francesco Depasquale in which all of the requests made by Robert’s brother Adrian Agius had been denied by the court.

Camilleri told Mr. Justice Giovanni Grixti how Robert Agius and his brother Adrian would spend time at the now-infamous potato shed in Marsa, observing arrivals and departures of the catamaran link to Sicily in order to keep an eye on their drug business. 

A further examination of the acts revealed that Robert Agius himself had asked Inspector Kevin Pulis from the Drugs Squad to testify in the compilation of evidence, because of his involvement in investigating a trafficking case against Agius, in which Agius was ultimately acquitted.

The inspector had confirmed that Agius had always behaved whilst on bail. However, the inspector had also testified to the fact that Agius had previously been observed to travel abroad every month. This fact indicated that the man had strong contacts abroad, submitted the prosecutor.

On the issue of tampering with evidence, Camilleri submitted that while Agius was claiming that the new witnesses could now prove his innocence, the fact that these new witnesses had all been put forward by the defence only strengthened the prosecution’s concerns about Agius tampering with evidence.

These facts all militate against Agius being granted bail, argued the prosecutor. The case had all the hallmarks of organised crime, he said, telling the judge that the money counter recovered by the police from Agius’ residence was not an innocent find in today’s cashless society.

The prosecutor also reminded the court that 300 grams of a cutting agent used in the trafficking of heroin had been found in Agius’ possession.

While it was true that the police had inquired about the tal-Maksar brothers in their initial investigation into the Caruana Galizia murder but had taken no action, new evidence had emerged when Vincent Muscat had testified and indicated Agius’ involvement, the prosecutor said.

The organised crime angle had also emerged from the testimony of police investigators, not just Vincent Muscat, Camilleri added, pointing out that Superintendent Arnaud had also recently testified to the fact that the tal-Maksar brothers had been persons of interest in the Caruana Galizia murder investigation from its inception.

The judge is expected to issue a decree on the bail request from chambers. 

Lawyers Alfred Abela, Rene Darmanin and Ishmael Psaila are assisting Agius.