Identity Malta employee jailed for pre-empting court's freezing order

An Identity Malta employee whose assets were frozen when he was charged with embezzling funds has been jailed for 6 months for withdrawing €41,000 of his savings before his bank was made aware of the freezing order.

60-year-old Joseph Calleja from Mosta had been charged with misappropriation, fraud and falsification of documents – offences aggravated by his position as a public officer - on 7 July.

That day, magistrate Joseph Mifsud had granted him bail against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €10,000 as well as ordering that his accounts be frozen, in view of the nature of the charges.

Calleja was arraigned in court some days later, being accused by inspector Priscilla Caruana Lee of having breached his bail conditions and contravening a freezing order.

During his arraignment, the court had been told that on Friday 7 July, Calleja had been released from arrest, after being accused of misappropriating between €20,000 and €25,000 from his employer, Identity Malta.

Immediately after his release, he had withdrawn €20,000 from a bank branch and then proceeded to withdraw another €21,000 the following Monday, the court was told.

He had later tried to withdraw more funds but was stopped by the bank, at which point the police were called.

Calleja’s case was assigned by lot to Magistrate Joseph Mifsud, who had imposed the freezing order in the first place.

In his judgment deciding the matter the magistrate observed that it was worrying that the accused had breached a court order so easily.

“What is the point of issuing a freezing order only for the accused to withdraw all his money from the bank until the final decision is taken?” asked the court.

There was no doubt that the accused had breached the court’s order, ruled the magistrate, underlining this act was a crime in itself.

The court emphasised that breaching court orders was a crime punishable by up to 12 months imprisonment and a fine of €11,646.  

The court revoked Calleja’s bail and jailed him for 6 months. The withdrawn cash was ordered to be deposited in court until the case was decided.

Magistrate Mifsud said the breach was “not a small one,” adding that once the accused had decided to renege on one of the conditions of bail, the court’s hands were tied with regards to the imposition of a pecuniary penalty. Calleja was also found guilty of breaching his bail conditions, for which he was fined €1000.

Showing some mercy towards the accused, the court exercised its discretion and declared that the man’s bail deposit and guarantee - totaling €11000 -should not be confiscated in favour of the government.

Inspector Priscilla Caruana Lee prosecuted.