Ċaqnu allegedly corrupted former CFO of Freeport-based company six years ago

Construction magnate Charles Polidano and his son Gordon were released on police bail on Saturday a day after their arrest on charges of corrupting a private officer

Construction magnate Charles Polidano known as iċ-Ċaqnu
Construction magnate Charles Polidano known as iċ-Ċaqnu

Construction magnate Charles Polidano, iċ-Ċaqnu, is accused of allegedly having corrupted the former Chief Financial Officer of a large private company based at the Malta Freeport, six years ago, through the sale of a property.

Polidano and his son Gordon were released on bail on Saturday morning, after having been arrested and interrogated on Friday.

Polidano Group categorically denied any wrongdoing, saying it was assisting the authorities to verify payments made to the company in 2014, involving a public deed. “The Group is confident the authorities will be satisfied once these verifications have taken place. The Group will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities,” Polidano Group said.

This is not Polidano's first brush with the law. Last year, Polidano was interrogated by police on alleged threats, use of force, bodily harm and revenge porn. Months before this, he was served with a number of court documents ordering him to pay a massive €40 million tax bill, some of which stretches back to the 1990s. 

In 2021 he was fined €22,000 over animal welfare breaches at his Montekristo Estates zoo in Siggiewi. He had initially pleaded not guilty but eventually filed an admission.