Live Blog: Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi And 19 Others In Court Today

20:32pm: That’s it for today. The case is deferred till the 13th June at 11am.

20:31pm: The court orders that the lawyers representing the accused be granted access to the acts of the case in order for them to be able to make submissions regarding this point.

20:29pm: They are not alone as several other lawyers tell the court that they too will be objecting to the nomination of the experts.

20:28pm: Dr Charles Mercieca, who is appearing for David Meli and Mario Gatt, notes that they will be objecting to the nomination of some of the experts appointed. Now that the inquiry has been submitted in the acts of the case, the court must approve the nomination of the experts that worked on the magisterial inquiry.

20:26pm: As for the request for a gagging order on the accused, the magistrate says she will not enter into the merits of the claims made by the AG and stresses that criminal proceedings are to unfold in the courtroom only and not on social media. The accused and their lawyers, in addition to being banned from sharing any documents, are also being banned from making any statements, analysis or scrutiny of evidence and witnesses called to testify.

The court is rejecting the prosecution’s request while reserving the right to take action on any publications that it deems unacceptable within the context of the proceedings.

As for the request regarding travel, the court is imposing a personal guarantee of €25,000 on the accused to ensure that they appear in court when required to.

20:23pm: She stresses that the evidence available is not to be shared with anyone outside the case. She says that the public interest is not to reveal evidence collected as part of the inquiry but to ensure that the course of justice is not disturbed.

The magistrate orders all of the parties not to share or distribute any materials pertaining to the case.

20:20pm: Three knocks on the door and the magistrate is back in the courtroom to issue her decree.

19:34pm: The magistrate has suspended the sitting and entered her chambers in order to deliberate on the prosecution’s requests.

19:32pm: Dr Refalo (from the AG’s office) says that all those listed in the conclusions as individuals who should be charged can be considered co-accused.

19:31pm: Dr Tonna Lowell (appearing for Brian Tonna, Karl Cini and Nexia BT) is now requesting that the prosecution present a list of witnesses and accused both in this case and in others linked to it.

19:20pm: The respective defence lawyers are continuing with their arguments against the requests made by the AG. They insist that the fact that the AG had chosen not to charge the accused under arrest meant that there was no fears or doubts about whether or not they would not appear.

19:08pm: Dr Franco Debono brings up Repubblika’s request to be admitted to the case as an injured party and is wondering why the AG had nothing to say about it.

18:59pm: Dr Edward Gatt (representing Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri) says that this would create a situation where a potential jury will be influenced by all of the comments appearing in the media without having the right to push back.

18:57pm: In his response, Dr Gatt argues that the legal provision being invoked by the prosecution was only there to ensure the accused appear in court when they are scheduled to and for no other reason.

He says that he can’t recall any instance in which the AG made a similar request to this.

18:53pm: Dr Veronique Dalli (appearing for Taomac Ltd) makes the same argument as Dr Demarco adding that her clients found out about the charges against them through WhatsApp messages and not because they had been notified by the court.

She notes that allegations and news stories are constantly being published about the case, adding that it would be unfair and uncalled for, for the accused to be the only ones to be silenced.

18:50pm: Dr Gianella Demarco (representing David Meli and Mario Gatt) tells the court that there is no reason to doubt whether the accused would be present in court and all had shown willingness to cooperate. She too argues that preventing the accused from speaking out would breach their rights. Moreover, she says that there had clearly been no attempts to tamper with evidence and there was no basis at law for the prosecution’s request.

18:47pm: Dr Galea (appearing for Joseph Muscat) is now reading out a post uploaded today by Repubblika’s lawyer Jason Azzopardi in which he claims that Muscat was scheduled to travel later this evening. He is suggesting that the prosecution’s request was based on Azzopardi’s post. “When we make a request there is all the opposition in the world and when Repubblika says jump everyone jumps.”

18:42pm: The magistrate interjects and clarifies that the AG’s request is for a ban on statements that could specifically prejudice the case.

18:41pm: Dr Refalo (from the AG’s office) elaborates that he was referring to comments by Muscat, Mizzi and Spiteri among others, insisting that such comments interfere with the course of justice. Galea insists that Refalo specifies the post he is referring to because, he stresses, all people have a right to express themselves.

Galea accuses the prosecution of making sweeping statements and takes Refalo to task for not presenting the court with specific examples.

18:34pm: The prosecution notes that in cases where individuals aren’t charged, the prosecution can request that conditions be placed on the accused to ensure that they are present for proceedings and do not tamper with any evidence.

He refers to statements and public statements made in relation to the case. “To avoid this becoming a trial by media, and while it is acceptable for the media to do their job and report what is happening, after what we have seen we are asking that in order to protect the administration of justice for the accused to be banned from speaking publicly about the case.”

In simple terms, he is requesting a gagging order on accused.

18:33pm: The prosecution is now making a request for a condition to be imposed on the accused that would require the accused to request permission from the court before travelling.

18:28pm: Lawyer Dr Veronique Dalli, appearing for Taomac Ltd asks Scerri whether he had ever heard the name of the company or whether he had ever been given the name as one of the keywords of interest provided by the inquiring magistrate and the court experts before undertaking their searches.

Scerri confirms that he had never heard the name and that he had no recollection of it being one of the key words.

That’s it from this witness.

18:24pm: “The foreign experts were with us. As far as I know all searches were carried out by the Maltese police but I can’t exclude that they searched the house. It’s been two years now,” Scerri says.

18:22pm: Pressed by Dr Galea about whether the foreign experts had done any searches themselves, Scerri clarifies that the police were after a particular document and that he had passed on to the expert the document that they were looking for and which Muscat had provided.

He again says that the experts accompanied him but is evasive about whether the experts carried out searches themselves.

18:21pm: Dr Galea asks to question the witness one more time and also asks whether the foreign experts were also present for the search of Muscat’s house. Scerri confirms that the experts accompanied the police but did not carry out searches themselves.

18:19pm: Scerri is now being asked about the number of searches carried out at Malta Enterprise and whether any of these experts were present and whether they actively participated in these searches. He says that the experts were present but that the investigations were carried out by the police.

18:16pm: Dr Tonna Lowell (appearing for Brian Tonna, Karl Cini and Nexia BT) asks whether the investigators had been given any warrants other than their nomination to work on the case. “As far as I know these experts did not have any powers of investigation,” he says.

18:14pm: Dr Edward Gatt says he wants to know whether Scerri had ever met this expert at the office of the AG. He says that he intends to question the impartiality of this investigator. Scerri says he is aware that the expert had done particular other work for the AG’s office. Scerri says he believes this might be the case but does not elaborate further.

18:12pm: Dr Gatt presses on and asks whether he had ever spoken to the same Irish investigator at the AG’s office here in Malta. The magistrate again questions what the point of the line of questioning is and its relevance to the case.

18:11pm: Dr Edward Gatt now asks Scerri about the expert he was in regular contact with. He asks him how many times he had communicated with him and whether he had ever told him that he was a superintendent in the UK police force. Scerri said he doesn’t remember.

18:07pm: Scerri says he remembers that there was a leak regarding the search of Joseph Muscat’s house and that a decision was taken to postpone the search by a day. Dr Galea asks whether the leak was investigated and whether he had been questioned by the magistrate about it. This prompts an intervention from the prosecution which questions the validity of the line of questioning.

The magistrate allows it and asks the witness herself whether or not the inquiring magistrate had said anything about the leak. Scerri says he had no recollection.

18:01pm: Dr Vincent Galea (appearing for Joseph Muscat) asks Scerri when he found out he was to be leading a search of Joseph Muscat’s house. He says it would have been a few days before. “Two, three days, maybe four.”

He explains that the search would have been logged in an excel file which each investigator would send over to the superintendent or deputy commissioner.

17:53pm: Dr Gatt asks whether this was the first inquiry that he had been involved in and he asks whether he had ever encountered the experts that were helping the magistrate in this case in previous ones. Scerri confirms that this was the first time he had worked with these experts.

17:51pm: Dr Edward Gatt asks whether the police would be present for meetings between the inquiring magistrate. Scerri says they wouldn’t, explaining that the magistrate would communicate with the expert who would then relay what was required to them.

17:46pm: Dr Demarco now questions the witness (Anthony Scerri). He is asked whether he was involved in the investigation or whether he just carried out searches for the magistrate. He confirms it was the latter.

17:45pm: Meanwhile, outside court, some of the day’s loudest and most fervent elderly supporters can still be spotted sitting on benches around the square, but with many of them entering the ninth hour here after a very sunny and hot day, police officers nearly outnumber them in certain places like the court steps. Then again, any inclination of commotion has consistently brought out supporters from all sides, so time will tell how many of Muscat’s supporters are still in and around Valletta.

17:41pm: Scerri is asked about Christopher Spiteri. He says that he was present on two of the occasions in which testimony was taken from Spiteri, adding that he had cooperated with the police on each occasion. He is asked whether it is fair to say that Spiteri was not being investigated in relation to a crime and whether it was the case that Spiteri was not given the right to a lawyer.

Scerri says that as far as he was concerned Spiteri wasn’t being investigated but says that as far as he was aware the right to a lawyer was always given.

17:36pm: Scerri’s running through the milestones within the investigation including searches at a number of locations like Malta Enterprise and offices linked to the law firm of DF Advocates.

17:28pm: Next up is Anthony Scerri, he was also a police inspector.

He says he was appointed to case in February 2021, taking over from Rennie Stivala who testified before him. He says that whenever their help was requested by the inquiring magistrate, they would return to court immediately after, to testify about their findings and submit any documentation to the inquiry.

17:25pm: “As long as I was there, until April 2021, nobody was indicated as a suspect,” Stivala says. Dr Demarco asks him whether he had ever checked with the MBR (Malta Business Registry) who was involved in Technoline or Steward. He again says there was no parallel investigation being carried out by the police.

Stivala says that he had been instructed to let the magistrate lead investigations and not to interfere.

17:24pm: Asked whether he was part of the investigation, Stivala clarifies and he was assisting in the inquiry. He clarifies that there was no parallel investigation to the inquiry being led by the police, despite the fact that a file about the allegations had at some point been opened.

17:20pm: Dr Demarco asks Stivala about searches at Meli and Gatt’s homes and asks whether he can confirm what, if any, items had been seized from Meli’s house.

She asks whether Meli was given a copy of the documents seized. Stivala says that as far as he is aware copies were taken of any documents and given to Meli. He says that he cannot remember what was seized from Gatt’s house, since he was not the one present for his search.

17:19pm: Dr Arthur Azzopardi on behalf of Technoline Ltd asks about a request made by the investigators for all invoices issued by Technoline with respect to VGH. Stivala clarifies that his visit was intended to understand the scope of the investigation and not make arrests. He confirms that Ivan Vassallo had cooperated with the investigators.

17:09pm: Next up is Superintendent Rennie Stivala, he was formerly at the Financial Crimes Investigation Department. He is asked about his involvement in the case. He says he was asked to follow the case by former deputy commissioner Ian Abdilla.

He recalls a number of searches at Technoline in Gżira, the homes of Ivan Vassallo and Mario Victor Gatt and three other locations which all took place at the same time.

He is now describing a search at the offices of Nexia BT including a garage in a “quarry behind the runway” which was used to store old documents.

17:06pm: Tax Commissioner Joseph Caruana is the next witness to take the stand. He says that a request had been made for Christopher Spiteri to be accused with a number of breaches of the country’s tax laws.

Questioned by Spiteri’s lawyer on what basis this decision was taken, Caruana says that investigators had informed the department that there was enough for them to investigate Spiteri. He says that he had no knowledge of what the evidence was, nor had the tax authorities undergone their own investigation.

Dr Refalo asks Caruana if he knows what information had been submitted to the inquiry by the Inland Revenue Department. He says he is aware that a number of officials from the department had testified but could not elaborate on the nature of their testimony.

16:58pm: The magistrate again rejects all the submissions by the defence and orders that the accused’s assets be frozen as requested by the Attorney General’s office.

16:56pm: More submissions, this time from Dr Edward Gatt. He’s appearing for Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri. He points to a page from the inquiry report which says that significant sums of money flowed to the key individuals involved, but also notes that it could not be determined whether these transfers were nefarious.

16:46pm: The court rejects the request for the AG’s office to specify the exact pages in relation to the freezing order on Sciacca Grill Limited, noting that the subject matter had already been decreed on.

The court also rejects the request for the prosecution to specify separately the amounts being frozen according to the accused’s different roles.

16:42pm: Dr Charles Mercieca, questions whether it is the case that the court does not have the tool to even determine how the freezing of assets should be allotted, adding that this should have been done by the AG’s office.

16:40pm: Dr Charles Mercieca, also appearing for Meli and Gatt, notes that Meli is being accused of committing illegal acts, including bribery on behalf of Steward Health Care, when Steward is not listed among the accused.

16:39pm: Dr Refalo says that these requests were all pointless given that the court had already decreed on the matter. He said the prosecution will rely on the court’s decree when it comes to specifying the pages of the inquiry report from which the amounts frozen emerge.

As for the request for the prosecution to specify between funds frozen in a personal capacity and those frozen in one’s capacity as a representative of a company, Refalo says that this obligation does not exist in the law.

16:35pm: The prosecution will now respond to the requests.

16:33pm: Dr Gianella DeMarco follows Dr Debono. She notes that her clients David Meli and Mario Gatt are charged with crimes in their own personal capacity as well as in their capacity as legal representatives of other companies. She asks the prosecution to specify exactly how the funds that the prosecution is requesting be frozen are divided across these various roles.

16:27pm: Dr Franco Debono now addresses the court. He says he accepts the decision handed down by the court but asks to be told by the prosecution the page numbers that relate to his client (Sciacca Grill Limited). The magistrate responds by noting that she had already decreed on this matter and that the pages had already been specified.

Dr Debono rebuts the claims, arguing that the prosecution had only said page 1109 onwards, hardly a specific reply. He reminds the court that it is dealing with multiple cases against a multitude of individuals. “What applies to my client doesn’t necessarily apply to the clients of my colleagues”.

16:21pm: Dr Filletti continues, arguing that the evidence being submitted in the case was meant to have been submitted to the Attorney General for her to determine and file charges on their basis. He insists it is unacceptable to take the evidence lock stock and barrel and submit them in court. He is saying that the evidence should be inadmissible.

16:17pm: Dr Filletti continues, he is refuting the logic employed in freezing funds amounting to the total quantity of money believed to have been laundered or obtained through corruption, without any proof or indication that he was the beneficiary of these transfers or that he benefitted from them in any way.

16:13pm: Dr Filletti, speaking on behalf of his client Adrian Hillman, notes that his client had not even been asked to testify in the inquiry. He said that the conclusions relied on the opinion of court experts who “usurped” the magistrate. Dr Filletti says that his client was only being charged because of his links to other individuals. “The expert is saying that though he did not find direct evidence of money laundering, the relationships he had suggested this was the case.”

The state failed when it decided to charge Adrian Hillman without hearing him out first, Dr Filletti continues.

“The state abdicated on its responsibility”.

16:05pm: The magistrate notes that the law does not require her to undergo any appraisal of the amounts of funds frozen. She adds that all the court is required to do is to determine whether it is reasonable for the funds to be frozen.

She says it is irrelevant whether the magistrate’s conclusions amount to evidence. She notes that at this point in proceedings the court is not dealing with evidence.

She says that it is entirely possible that over the course of the proceedings, the court may in fact determine that the amount is bigger.

The court will not enter into the merits of whether the freezing order is justified as this would amount to the court expressing itself on the merits of the case, she said.

16:03pm: She will be decreeing on the issue of the freezing orders. Specifically whether to allow cross examination before she issues a freezing order, as well as whether to request that the prosecution specifically outline exactly how it arrived at the amounts to be frozen.

16:01pm: The magistrate is back and the sitting continues.

15:55pm: We’re still waiting for the magistrate to emerge from her chambers but it’s not looking promising. Moments ago one of the court assistants entered the chambers and shook her head disappointedly. We’re just speculating but it looks like her deliberations are taking longer than expected.

15:37pm: Lawyers and defendants are slowly filing in to the courtroom, in anticipation of the resumption of the sitting.

15:20pm: After dispersing shortly after Emanuel Cuschieri took to the steps of court to offer an update just over an hour ago, the crowd has slowly started gathering again.

“We’re still here, and we will remain being here,” one person loudly proclaimed.

14:53pm: The sitting has been temporarily suspended while the magistrate deliberates on the matter of the freezing order as well as other points raised by the defence.

14:50pm: Dr Refalo responds and notes that the law quoted by Dr Galea also states that the a freezing order can include, in addition to that which is to be recovered, other funds or items that might have been used in the commission of the crime.

Regarding the fact that he had cited the magistrate’s conclusions when asked to substantiate the freezing order amounts, Refalo notes that the conclusions were based on the evidence provided by the various experts.

14:41pm: Dr Debono again reminds the court that the law is a new one and that it was therefore in “uncharted territory”.

Dr Vincent Galea chimes in and quotes from the parliamentary debate during which the amendment to the law was discussed. He quotes the then justice minister, insisting that it was clear that legislator intended for the prosecution to clearly quantify and offer a detailed explanation of exactly why an amount was being requested frozen.

14:36pm: The court is still hearing arguments by the various defence teams regarding the issue of the freezing order and the access they have been given to the evidence.

14:26pm: “The prosecution is using as proof, the only part of the proces-verbale which isn’t proof,” adds Dr Stephen Tonna Lowell.

He adds that freezing orders should not be linked to the amount of money laundering. Dr Refalo is confusing the amount of money believed to have been laundered with the amount of money that the state would be entitled to recover from the accused were they to be found guilty.

14:24pm: Pressed further, the prosecution points to page 1109 of the inquiry report which he says specifies the amounts involved.

Dr Edward Gatt responds saying that what pages 1109 onwards contain the charges outlined by the magistrate. Hardly evidence substantiating freezing orders running into the millions

“These are recommendations, not even proof. This goes to show how weak the position of the Attorney General is on this issue,” Gatt charges

14:18pm: The magistrate asks the prosecution to continue with its submissions asking it to prioritise evidence relevant to the issuing of the freezing order. Dr Refalo responds and points to the big pile of boxes sitting in front of the magistrate’s bench. “This is the evidence related to the freezing order”.

14:14pm: Dr Jason Grima representing Christopher Spiteri is arguing that his client was not given the right to a lawyer when he testified before the magistrate, adding that he was specifically told by the magistrate that he did not need a lawyer.

Given this fact, he says, it is clear that proces-verbal was not compiled regularly and should therefore not be admissible as evidence against his client

14:11pm: Dr Edward Gatt asks the witness whether the court registrar has scanned the acts of the case. The witness replies that now that the inquiry has been formally submitted into the acts of the case the process of digitisation will start.

14:10pm: Meanwhile, Dr Filletti continues to question the witness about Adrian Hillman’s freezing order. The witness responds saying that he was not involved in compiling the documents, nor did he have any visibility of it.

14:09pm: The crowd can be heard chanting outside. It isn’t clear what is happening but we can see Muscat’s legal team turn towards him and smirk.

14:06pm: Dr Filletti is the first lawyer to cross-examine the witness. He is asking him questions related to when the evidence was received and what he knows about the evidence being presented. He confirms that since the acts left the magistrate there has only been a few days at the AG’s office.

14:02pm: The first witness is a court official Franklin Calleja, who is submitting the proces-verbal as well as the acts of the inquiry which consists of 78 boxes and a number of electronic devices.

14:00pm: The magistrate says the court will first hear the evidence presented before deciding on the freezing orders.

13:56pm: “The prosecution needs to explain exactly on which pages it is stated that Sciacca Grill has received these amounts of money. I am not going to be impressed by boxes. I want Dr Refalo to confirm under oath how he arrived at the figure of €20 million”.

13:54pm: Dr Franco Debono now chimes in, arguing that the laws being referred to with respect to freezing orders are new, and therefore the court should proceed with more caution to ensure that the spirit of the law and the intentions of the legislator are followed.

13:53pm: Dr Vince Galea again questions where the amounts emerge from. The magistrate responds saying that the amounts emerge from the inquiry as stated by Dr Refalo. This elicits a loud response from the various legal teams who are quickly reprimanded by the magistrate.

13:52pm: Dr Refalo explains that the 1,200 page inquiry report outlines all of the crimes committed, adding that the inquiry in its entirety substantiates the amounts outlined in the freezing orders.

13:50pm: The magistrate now asks the prosecution what evidence it has to substantiate its freezing orders.

13:41pm: The court is still hearing arguments related to the freezing orders. Many of the arguments are repetition, but the gist of it is that the accused believe the amounts listed in the freezing orders to be exaggerated and not linked to what the inquiry says about each individual.

13:38pm: Dr Arthur Azzopardi tells the court that he is in agreement with Dr Filletti. He also notes that there are discrepancies between the freezing order issued with respect to his client as well as the amount of money the inquiry links to his client. Lawyers representing Jonathan Vella and Christopher Spiteri make the same argument. He says there isn’t a single line that suggests that Jonathan Vella pocketed any money but he has still been slapped with a €30 million freezing order.

13:35pm: He continues, insisting that the AG’s office should have gone through all of the evidence to determine exactly what evidence exists with respect to each of the individuals before requesting what look like blanket freezing orders across the board.

13:33pm: “The AG must substantiate in detail how, in the case of Adrian Hillman, he arrived at the amount of €30 million,” Filletti argues, adding that the court is not obliged to stick to the amounts requested by the prosecution. “The court must be as convinced as we are that that the amounts being frozen tally with the the accusations presented with respect to the individuals.”

13:31pm: Dr Filletti now addresses the court. He says the request for a freezing order was not in the inquiry. He says that the AG should be obliged to provide the accused specifically with the documents or findings that resulted in the amounts stated in the freezing orders.

13:28pm: The magistrate pushes back. She says that she already gave decrees with respect to people’s right to disclosure. She also questions Dr Gatt as which provision of the law he is basing his arguments on.

13:27pm: Dr Edward Gatt who is appearing for Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri now addresses the court. He explains that the obligation to give the accused a disclosure belongs to the Attorney General and not the court. He insists that the AG said he will substantiate his freezing order through the evidence that will be submitted. “Is he therefore suggesting that I am to respond without having seen the evidence myself?”

13:24pm: Dr Refalo from the Attorney General’s office rebuts and says that it would make sense to present the evidence in chronological order. Dr Franco Debono jumps to his feet to respond but is shutdown by the magistrate. “Not like that!”

13:23pm: Dr Franco Debono again insists with the court, that given the very large freezing orders it is only fair that the prosecution explain how it arrived at the amounts listed in the freezing order. He insists that the fact that the accused were not spoken to or given disclosure about the evidence against them necessitates that the issue be dealt with as soon as possible and before the court deliberates on other matters.

13:15pm: All of the accused individuals have pleaded not guilty – no surprises there. The magistrate is now asking the representatives of the various accused companies how they plead.

13:10pm: Clarence John Conger-Thompson, Christopher Spiteri and David-Joseph Meli all plead not guilty.

13:07pm: Keith Schembri also pleads not guilty.

13:06pm: Konrad Mizzi, similarly tells the court that he is now a consultant and pleads not guilty.

13:05pm: Muscat says his profession is a consultant on management and economy.

13:05pm: The magistrate asked Joseph Muscat whether he pleads guilty or not. “Absolutely not guilty,” he replies.

13:03pm: Dr Stefano Filletti and Dr Franco Debono have made similar requests. Their argument is that they would like more information regarding how the amounts listed in the freezing orders were determined.

13:02pm: The magistrate sticks to her guns. Dr Stephen Tonna Lowell, who is appearing for Brian Tonna, Karl Cini and Nexia BT makes a similar request, as does Dr Gianella De Marco who is appearing for David Meli.

12:59pm: Dr Vincent Galea appearing for Muscat has requested permission to cross examine the prosecutor but the request has been denied by the magistrate. He is now reading the article of the law on the basis of which he is requesting to do so.

12:52pm: We’re done reading charges. The court is now being asked by the prosecution to order than misappropriated funds to be returned to the state if the accused are found guilty. The prosecution is also asking for the accused’s assets to be frozen according to the law.

12:48pm: The crowd outside has dispersed somewhat as people look for shade on this hot sunny day. We suspect they’ll be back to see their heroes off once word trickles out that proceedings have come to an end.

12:46pm: Charges are still being read out. Meanwhile, Emanuel Cuschieri who was the brain behind today’s “peaceful protest” in Valletta as “a show of support for Muscat and others criminally charged”, ignored journalists as he walked away from the Maltese Courts.

12:22pm: In case you were wondering, the charges are still being read out. This doesn’t always happen and in many cases there is agreement between the parties to consider the charges as read. This case looks to be different.

12:15pm: We’ve now moved onto the charges the accused are facing. It’s a long list with 32 charges against different individuals and companies.

12:04pm: The prosecution is still reading out the names of all the individuals and companies accused of crimes in this case.

11:55am: The prosecution is about to start reading the charges against the accused.

11:54am: Documents are still being submitted. These mainly include birth certificates, police conducts, as well as other documents related to the charges against them.

11:49am: Dr Filletti informs the court that Adrian Hillman lives in the UK and came to Malta of his own free will. He adds that he is waving his right to ‘specialty’ a rule which he could have used to fight his extradition.

This means that Hillman was brought to Malta following an extradition request in relation to his involvement in other corruption cases. The rule of specialty states that individuals can only be charged with the crime for which they have been extradited to a country.

11:47am: The prosecution is now submitting documents related to the charges against each of the individuals.

11:43am: “Where a suspect is being represented by more than one lawyer they should see to it that only one lawyer from the team addresses the court and questions witnesses.”

11:42am: The magistrate is advising the lawyers that she wants proceedings to move in an orderly manner.

11:41am: Among the lawyers present are Stefano Filletti, Arthur Azzopardi, Mark Vassallo, Edward Gatt, Marion Camilleri, Franco Debono, Dean Hili, Veronique Dalli, Giannella De Marco, Charles Mercieca, Stephen Tonna Lowell, Luke Dalli, Vincent Galea, Charlon Gouder, Dominic Micallef, Ishmael Psaila and Etienne Borg Ferranti.

The magistrate has ordered that an interpreter to be appointed for Clarence John Conger-Thompson who does not speak Maltese.

11:38am: The magistrate is currently reading through the list of accused and asking their lawyers to identify themselves. It is a bit difficult to tell exactly who is defending who. It appears many of the accused are being defended by the same lawyers. Former OPM Keith Schembri and former Minister Konrad Mizzi are both being defended by the same legal team.

11:35am: The magistrate has entered the courtroom and we’re off.

11:32am: All that remains is for magistrate Rachel Montebello to emerge from her chambers.

11:30am: The prosecution is also in the courtroom. Attorney General lawyers Francesco Refalo, Anthony Vella, Rebekah Spiteri, Shelby Aquilina together with police inspectors Hubert Cini and Wayne Rodney Borg will be prosecuting.

11:28am: The 78 boxes of evidence appear to all be in the courtroom along with several computer towers and other electronic devices.

11:25am: The courtroom has been opened. The accused, their legal teams as well as member of the press are currently filing into Hall 22 as we get closer to the start of proceedings.

11:10am: Joseph Muscat arrived in court with his wife Michelle Muscat and Jason Micallef.

11:05am: Foyer outside the court is now packed. It’s a who’s who of lawyers and former politicians. Most of the accused have now arrived and everyone is waiting for the courtroom to be opened.

11am: Joseph Muscat’s legal team is made up of Luke Dalli, Charlon Gouder,
Vince Galea, Ishmael Psaila and Etienne Borg Ferrante.

10:35am: Members of Joseph Muscat’s legal team are starting to gather in court.

10:25am: Keith Schembri arrives in court, with crowd outside cheering him on with “Viva l-labour” chants.

09:55am: Security is tight and the area around the hall has been completely cordoned off. Only people involved in the case being let in for the time being. This is definitely not a normal day in court.

09:50am: A number of those to be charged are already inside the halls of court. These include Brian Bondin,  Pierre Sladden, Ivan Vassallo, Chris Spiteri and Adrian Hillman.

Emanuel Cuschieri has arrived outside court and the crowd starts chanting and singing as soon as they spot a journalist filming or trying to get comments from people

________

Good morning and welcome to this live blog.

We’re at the courts in Valletta awaiting the start of proceedings. There is already a heavy security presence both inside and outside court, including police officers and AFM soldiers. Police with sniffer dogs have also been spotted in the courthouse.

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, his chief of staff Keith Schembri as well as former minister Konrad Mizzi will appear in court today along with 19 other individuals to answer to charges of fraud, misappropriation and money laundering among a litany of other charges.

The charges, which include bribery, and criminal association stem from a magisterial inquiry into the Vitals Global Healthcare deal. The inquiry was concluded and handed over to the Attorney General last month with charges against those involved being filed shortly after.

The accused are being called to court by summons and not under arrest as happens in most similar cases meaning they will leave the courthouse as free individuals and will remain so until they are formally indicted.

The full list of individuals expected to be charged today is as follows:

• Joseph Muscat
• Konrad Mizzi
• Keith Schembri
• Clarence John Conger-Thompson
• Christopher Spiteri
• Jonathan Vella
• David-Joseph Meli
• Ivan Vassallo
• Mario Victor Gatt
• Brian Bondin
• Adrian Hillman
• Pierre (Peter) Sladden
• Brian Tonna
• Karl Cini
• Sciacca Grill Ltd
• Kasco Engineering Company Ltd
• FSV Ltd
• MTrace p.l.c.
• Gateway Solutions Ltd
• Technoline Ltd
• Eurybates Ltd
• Taomac Ltd
• Nexia BT Ltd

Another group of individuals, including Central Bank governor and former Finance Minister Edward Scicluna and outgoing deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne will be charged tomorrow.

We’re live in court room 22 to follow proceedings and we’ll be bringing you a blow-by-blow account of how the day develops, both inside and outside the court. Stay tuned.