Former Allied Newspapers managing director Adrian Hillman will be extradited to Malta to face charges in connection with a major money laundering case, Prime Minister Robert Abela has confirmed.

“The process has started to bring Adrian Hillman to Malta, after which the judicial process against him will commence as it did against other people in a related case,” Abela said when questioned by Lovin Malta at a press conference today.

Hillman is at the centre of a high-profile corruption and money laundering case which saw police prosecute 11 people, including former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and Nexia BT partners Brian Tonna and Karl Cini, on 20th March.

The charges follow the conclusion of two magisterial inquiries that former PN leader Simon Busuttil had requested back in 2017.

One inquiry is related to allegations that Schembri channeled over €650,000 to Hillman between 2011 and 2015. The other is related to suspected kickbacks amounting to €100,000 from the sale of citizenship between Schembri and Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna.

Police have laid out a complex web of transactions to show how Schembri, Hillman, Kasco CEO Malcolm Scerri and former Progress Press chairman Vince Buhagiar split a $5 million profit after selling printing machines to Progress Press at an inflated price. It appears that Hillman received well over €1 million in all.

The suspects have since been released on bail.

Hillman was last known to be residing in the United Kingdom, where he is researching a PhD in the construction of news at Goldsmiths University.

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