Maltese-Australian man extradited to Malta to face court after three years on the run

A court has heard how a former shipping company employee, suspected of misappropriating €18,000 from his bosses, had led police on a three-year game of cat and mouse to the other side of the planet, before being arrested and extradited to Malta.

28-year-old Jason John Neagoe, who holds dual Maltese-Australian nationality, appeared before magistrate Ian Farrugia this morning, accused of misappropriation, fraud and aggravated theft from shipping firm Sullivan and Sullivan.

Prosecuting Inspector Jonathan Ferris told the court that Neagoe had been arrested in Serbia last October on the strength of an International Arrest Warrant before being extradited to Malta last night.

Inspector Ferris explained that in July 2013, the Economic Crimes Unit received a report from the directors of Sullivan and Sullivan, alleging that at least €3,000 had been misappropriated by their employee. It appears that he had privately admitted to them that he had done so and agreed to enter into a repayment agreement. 

However, that night, the employee bought a ticket to Australia, citing a family emergency. The first-class ticket was bought through the company's booking system using company funds, said the inspector, further adding to the amount misappropriated. 

Neagoe is thought to have continued to make withdrawals in the intervening years, adding up to some €18,600, before the transactions were flagged during an internal audit.

Defence lawyer Victor Bugeja entered a plea of not guilty for Neagoe, who seemed to claim to have requested his own extradition.

“I lost my job because of the allegations,” protested the accused. “I spent four months chasing the police to get my extradition organised. They made my life a misery.”

Bugeja told the court that Neagoe and his family had been going through financial difficulties at the time. “He had wanted to help his family and perhaps he had wanted to assist them financially,” the lawyer said.

Requesting bail, the lawyer asked the court to take into account the fact that the man could not afford any financially onerous bail conditions as he was currently out of a job. He pointed to the assertion that when he was arrested abroad, the accused had requested to be extradited to Malta, as demonstrating his lack of intention to abscond.

Inspector Ferris asked the court to impose suitable conditions if the accused was to be granted bail, reminding it that he had spent two and a half years chasing the accused around the world before his capture.

The court granted bail against a personal guarantee of €10,000 and on condition that the accused reside with his aunt, sign a bail book twice a week and observe a curfew. The magistrate warned him of the serious consequences of failing to abide by any of these conditions.