A Maltese magistrate has been arraigned in court on VAT-related charges, Lovin Malta can reveal. 

Police told Lovin Malta that a Magistrate was charged in the Gozitan courts on 23rd July 2021. Well-informed sources have told Lovin Malta that the charges were issued against Magistrate Monica Vella and were based on discrepancies in her stated income from work Vella conducted outside her duties as a member of the judiciary. 

The case has been put off for 15th October 2021. However, she remains part of the judiciary for the time being and even presided over the case concerning a stabbing in Sliema on 31st July.

Vella’s arraignment comes amid a clampdown on financial crime in the country following pressure by Moneyval and FATF to institute major reforms, particularly after Malta’s greylisting. 

Vella first hit the news in March 2021 after it was revealed that all Vella’s cases before the Gozitan courts were reassigned by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti. Sources at the time suggested it was a result of her slow pace of work, however, new revelations have changed the optics concerning previous claims.

Malta’s courts are notoriously inefficient and it is difficult to imagine that Vella’s output was so low, that she was singled out from Malta’s judiciary. 

According to a statistical analysis by Lovin Malta, Vella was not the best performer, but she certainly was not the worst among Malta’s judges and magistrates. 

It remains to be seen whether Malta’s Chief Justice, the Commission for the Administration of Justice or Justice Minister will intervene, particularly in view of the FATF greylisting and the recent publication of a public inquiry linked to the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

However, there are reasons to fear that no action will be taken, with the Justice Ministry currently facing enormous pressure over recent revelations by Lovin Malta concerning messages Minister Edward Zammit Lewis shared with Yorgen Fenech, the main suspect in the assassination.

Zammit Lewis has said that he has no plans to resign with Prime Minister Robert Abela tight-lipped on whether any action will be taken.