Papaya Limited’s request to silence Times of Malta denied by court

A court has refused an attempt by e-money firm, Papaya Limited, to stop Times of Malta from publishing information about the company.

Judge Lawrence Mintoff rejected Papaya Limited’s request for a prohibitory injunction on Tuesday.

The court ruled the material in question was not confidential and journalists cannot be prevented from reporting in the public interest.

After receiving questions from Times of Malta, Papaya filed a court application for a prohibitory injunction against Allied Newspapers Ltd, Times of Malta and journalist Jacob Borg.

The firm had argued that the planned article contained confidential details from a Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) investigation, that the findings were still under dispute, and that publication would cause irreparable harm.

In his ruling, judge Mintoff stated that the court will not “delve into issues of whether a journalistic investigation or report is based on privileged information or sources bound by confidentiality. The court should also not investigate whether the information was obtained by the journalist illegally, and should never grant a request for the issuance of a prohibitory injunction with the aim of stopping the journalist from continuing with their journalistic investigation.”

He further stressed that “in any case and in every eventuality, journalistic sources are always protected.”

In its submissions, Times of Malta argued the measure would effectively be a gag order, blocking journalists from releasing a story of public importance. They further stipulated that such a move would stifle journalism and threaten freedom of expression.

The court also found the information in question, the FIAU’s 2023 “Compliance Review of Papaya Limited” and an “Administrative Measure Publication Notice” was already in the public domain. Papaya had itself filed the report in separate legal proceedings without requesting confidentiality, making it accessible via the court registry and the eCourts system.

The judge ruled a prohibitory injunction cannot be granted when the action the applicant seeks to prevent has already taken place.

Papaya had initially secured a provisional injunction. However, the court ultimately revoked the earlier injunction and ordered Papaya to pay legal costs.

The company is also currently appealing a €279,000 fine imposed by the FIAU for alleged anti-money laundering breaches.

Times of Malta editor-in-chief Herman Grech spoke out following the decision. 

He stated that approving Papaya’s request would have seriously undermined press freedom in Malta.

“It would set a dangerous precedent where journalists could be hauled into court not over what they have published, but over what they are merely investigating,” Grech said.