Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi on police bail, questioned over links to suspected fuel smugglers

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi has confirmed to MaltaToday that he is out on police bail after being questioned over links to suspected fuel smugglers and money laundering allegations.

Azzopardi was in police custody yesterday following a massive police anti-smuggling operation. Two former national team footballers were arraigned in the early hours of Tuesday in connection with the operation.

The court has since issued a ban on the names and charges of the two men arraigned on Tuesday.

Azzopardi, a prominent lawyer in the criminal field, said he spent the night in police custody and was interrogated under caution in connection with money laundering allegations relating to third parties who he stressed were unrelated to the persons arraigned in court.

“I was not trying to hide anything because there was nothing to hide,” he said, adding that he cooperated fully with the police.

“I actually welcome the police's questions and have given them all the KYC (know your client) information and relevant paperwork that I had in connection with my clients,” Azzopardi said.

The police wanted to know more about his involvement with third parties who were of interest to the police, he said.

“Unfortunately, they didn't have time to go to my office yesterday and so I had to spend the night in custody,” he said.