Ex-police officer on fraud charges tells court he was targeted by senior officials

Former police officer Alexander Schembri has testified that he had been “targeted” by senior figures within the police force and was to be charged “at all costs”.

Schembri, who formerly worked as detailing officer in the Valletta District, also claimed on oath that Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà gave misleading testimony about payslip records.

Schembri, 56, of Xgħajra, and constable Joseph Debrincat, 64, of Santa Venera, have pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud involving less than €5,000, as well as to committing an offence they were duty-bound to prevent. The charges relate to overtime and extra duty payments.

Schembri, who served as president of the Malta Police Union, faces additional accusations of misuse of government funds, complicity in fraud, knowingly making a false declaration to a public authority, and creating or using a false document.

Taking the stand on Tuesday, Schembri recounted joining the police force in 1994 and later assuming the role of detail officer in 2016, following the departure of his predecessor, Major Patrick Mallia. His responsibilities included drafting daily details, managing leave and overtime, overseeing third-party extra-duty payments, handling logistics for national events, and liaising with entities such as the Office of the Prime Minister, the Office of the President, the MTA, and Festivals Malta.

He said he oversaw a unit of around 92 officers, stressing that he had been the first within the force to introduce direct banking for extra-duty payments in an effort to eliminate cash handling.

Anonymous letter and internal dispute

He recounted that in 2019, then Police Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar summoned him and showed him an anonymous letter sent to five senior officials, then Deputy Police Commissioner Ramon Mercieca, CEO Angelo Gafà, union president Sandro Camilleri, and the secretary of Schembri’s own union, the Malta Police Union. The letter alleged wrongdoing within District 1’s detail office.

Schembri said he immediately recognised the authorship—officers from Shift D, who were disgruntled after their preferred reliever was replaced by Sergeant Marlon Hili. The letter, he said, attempted to “manipulate circumstances” and even implicated Major Patrick Mallia, whom Schembri praised.

Cutajar subsequently requested the detail reports for verification. Schembri testified that he had insisted the investigation should have been based on the electronic records found on his computer which had actually been finalised and not on the hard copy versions which were just proposed draft details.  He emphasised that the investigation was conducted on the basis of outdated information.

Schembri later mentioned how newly-appointed Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà later carried out a restructuring that centralised all detail officers at police headquarters under a new Staffing Unit.

While the Malta Police Union supported centralisation “in principle,” Schembri told the court that district-based detail officers remained essential to preserve a sense of “humanity” when adjusting officers’ hours for personal emergencies. Serving simultaneously as detail officer and union president, he said detail officers often acted as “a father figure” within their districts.

He produced in court a July 2020 email in which Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà warned him: “I appreciate your decisions, but if I see continued obstruction, matters will take another turn.”

Afterwards, Schembri was reassigned to the newly established Staffing Unit. Valletta was selected as the “model district” for the reform, and Schembri suddenly found himself handling overtime and third-party duty invoices for both Malta and Gozo, an expansion of responsibility, he said, from overseeing €1.6 million to €6.5 million in payments.

But on 14 April 2021, he was abruptly transferred to Birżebbuġa, just one day after, in his capacity as union president, he met then-Opposition leader Bernard Grech. The union’s consultant, Gejtu Vella, protested that the move breached ILO conventions protecting trade-union officials. The transfer was revoked later the same day, but seven months later Schembri was shifted to Birżebbuġa again.

He recounted that the morning after the initial transfer notice, he returned to the Staffing Unit intending to hand over pending invoices, but no one would sign for or acknowledge the documents. He remained in the office until 9am before two inspectors removed him. A heated exchange followed, during which one inspector allegedly told him: “Shut your mouth and leave, because you have no idea what is coming your way.”

FCID investigation

While on duty on the day of the general election in 2022, Schembri learnt he was under investigation and one of his colleagues allegedly told him that he had heard a top official say: “At all costs, Alex needs to be brought to court”.

On 18 October 2022, Commissioner Gafà notified Schembri of his suspension, telling him it resulted from “strong insistence” by the Attorney General.  Schembri responded that he was unfazed, noting that months earlier he had publicly called for the AG’s resignation over the Darren Debono case.

When questioned about discrepancies in payments, Schembri said officers were paid a minimum of two hours even when carrying out much shorter duties, and he pointed to examples such as Monte di Pietà runs during mid-watch, where he said minimum-hour rules had been applied with the knowledge or approval of senior officials.

The court also heard that Schembri has filed constitutional proceedings against Commissioner Angelo Gafà over matters connected to this case.

Reference was made to sworn testimony by Gafà in separate constitutional proceedings. In that testimony, the commissioner had said payslips did not include a detailed breakdown of extra-duty payments and therefore did not indicate the specific basis on which those payments were issued. He stated that an officer would not be able to determine, from the payslip alone, the precise reason for any additional remuneration.

Schembri disputed this interpretation, telling the court he did not understand why such testimony had been given. He exhibited a payroll document which, he argued, showed that payslips were historically accompanied by multi-page statements providing further information.

Regarding the allegation of “overlapping” hours, Schembri described it as a misunderstanding of how extra-duty remuneration functioned.

The case continues on 27 January.

Lawyers Etienne Savona and Maria Schembri from the Office of the Attorney General prosecuted with the assistance of Superintendent James Grech and Inspector Christian Abela. Lawyer David Bonello appeared for Schembri.