Speeding ticket led police to More Supermarkets boss Ryan Schembri in Scotland

The boss of the More Supermarkets chain Ryan Schembri has been arrested in Scotland.

It was a speeding ticket which brought an end to Ryan Schembri’s eight-year stint on the run.

Schembri had fled the country in 2014 with a reported €40 million in debts left behind from the More Supermarkets crash.

He had initially moved to Dubai, where he lived with partner Aviva Ryan. Legal sources told MaltaToday that it was initially impossible to extradite him from the UAE, due to the fact that there is no extradition treaty between the two countries. No charges were filed against him at that time.

Ryan Schembri. Photo: Facebook

At some point after that, the couple subsequently moved to London, and later to Scotland, living under the radar

The breakthrough in the case came when UK authorities had informed their Maltese counterparts that Schembri had been fined for speeding there. This had led to an investigation by the Maltese police which found evidence showing that Schembri resided in the United Kingdom and had bank accounts, as well as a partner there. 

He was arrested on the strength of a European Arrest Warrant that had been issued by Interpol some years back. Maltese police were present in Scotland for the arrest.

He is expected to arrive in Malta later today so as to be arraigned in court over the weekend on charges of money laundering, as well as his connection to the supermarket debt that is connected, in turn, to the murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop.

Chircop had been one of the ‘investors’ in the mysterious More Supermarkets bust, that saw Ryan Schembri, a cousin of former PM chief of staff Keith Schembri, flee the island.

The lawyer had loaned a substantial sum to people connected to the More Supermarkets, where millions are said to have been lost after director and owner Ryan Schembri fled the island, leaving his creditors in the lurch. In March 2014, Chircop had entered into a contract with Ryan Schembri, then appearing as director of the company Erom Limited, to loan him the sum of €750,000.

Carmel Chircop

Also appearing as debtors in the contract were Schembri’s business partner Etienne Cassar, as well as Adrian Agius - one of the men first arrested by police in December 2017 in connection with the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, and later released on police bail. Together, Schembri and Cassar, and Agius, owned shares in another joint company called Interaa Holdings.

Agius, known as ‘tal-Maksar’, was the director linked to the More Hamrun supermarket. Agius held a directorship in a company related to More’s main shareholder Ryan Schembri, Interaa Holdings, with the shareholders being made up of Schembri’s own Cassar & Schembri Marketing (40%), M&R Construction (15%) and Panelix Supplies (25%), and Agius’s Imora Holdings (20%).

Schembri's absconding from Malta in September 2014, took place soon after he had started procedures aimed at transferring his supermarket business to a new investor, the restaurateur Darren Casha, who was then under the impression that the More Supermarkets chain was in excellent financial health.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto is expected to be representing Schembri in court.

Lawyer Roberto Montalto is expected to be representing Schembri in court.