The process to extradite former Allied Newspapers managing director Adrian Hillman on charges related to a money laundering and corruption investigation will begin shortly. 

Sources told the Times of Malta that the UK’s enforcement authorities received all the necessary paperwork to kickstart extradition proceedings against Hillman. 

This means that Hillman will have to appear in a UK court, which will ultimately approve his extradition to Malta. 

Hillman is currently living in the United Kingdom. His Twitter bio reads that he is currently a “Lecturer in Media Research, Political Communication” and is currently researching a PhD in the construction of news at Goldsmiths University.

It will be the first time since Brexit that an extradition request with the UK will be filed. It has created issued since European Arrest Warrants that were in place while the UK was part of the EU no longer exist. 

It appears that he could be brought to Malta on the back of a UK-EU surrender agreement. 

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 channelled 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.