Matthew Pace acted as a 'professional money launderer', police testify
Zenith Finance’s owners Matthew Pace, a former PA board member, and Lorraine Falzon were in the dock today on accusations of money laundering
Zenith Finance owner Matthew Pace acted as a 'professional money launderer' for clients, police testified in court today.
Today saw Matthew Pace and Zenith Finance director Lorraine Falzon in the dock over accusations of money laundering. Two inspectors exhibited evidence to the court and testified.
Inspector Ian Camilleri said that earlier this month, he was assigned to operation MH together with a number of other colleagues, which began after the conclusion of the Hillman inquiry. This saw an alleged €650,000 bank transfer between Keith Schembri and Adrian Hillman - the amounts were deposited in client accounts held by MFSP, now Zenith Finance, for further reinvestment. The funds were transferred to one of Schembri’s American accounts, and then distributed to other accounts.
This money was payment for three machines bought by Kasco Engineering and Progress Press. The magistrate had ordered a search of the MFSP offices, which saw copies of servers and laptops seized. According to Camilleri, Pace failed to carry out proper compliance, instead operating as a “professional money launderer”.
The inquiry established that Keith Schembri’s MFSP account had been opened in June 2010, with Adrian Hillman’s account set up at around the same time. Kasco Group CEO Malcolm Scerri similarly opened an account in 2010, as did Vincent Buhagiar. All individuals had received funds from Keith Schembri’s company.
Lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo, appearing as defence counsel for the accused, requested bail for Matthew Pace and Lorraine Falzon - the magistrate will be giving a decree on this request tomorrow morning.