Man arrested at airport carrying €7,000 of his boss' money

A man has been charged with misappropriating €7,000 from a car rental company he works for after he was arrested boarding a flight to Romania.

Coosmin Bucur, a 35-year old Sliema resident from Romania, was arrested at the Malta International Airport shortly before boarding his flight to his home country.

The man was taken to court on Friday afternoon, where he pleaded not guilty to having allegedly misappropriated the money which his employer had entrusted him with to deposit.

Bail was requested by defence lawyer Martin Fenech, who argued that the sum was “relatively small” and did not merit the man’s continued detention. If bail were to be denied this would prevent him from returning the money to the victim, said the lawyer.

Police Inspector Silvio Magro, pointed out that the accused had no family ties to Malta and that civilian witnesses were still to testify.

Bucur had bought a one-way ticket to Bucharest, before being arrested, the court heard. This meant there was a tangible risk of absconding, argued the prosecution.

The accused spoke up at this point, telling the court, through his lawyer, that he had bought a return ticket “months in advance.”

The court, presided by magistrate Aaron Bugeja, however denied bail after taking note of the circumstances of the case, the seriousness of the charge as well as other factors.

Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Andrew Saliba appeared parte civile for the victim.