A supermarket chain owner who amassed millions in debt before fleeing the country in 2014 is set to be hauled to court today.

Ryan Schembri ran More Supermarkets – but he has been a fugitive for nearly a decade, on the run with his wife and son until Scottish police happened to give him a speeding ticket, setting off a chain of events that finally led to him facing justice in a Maltese court.

Magistrate Charmaine Galea is set to preside over the case, with lawyer Roberto Montalto as defence counsel and inspector Anthony Scerri prosecuting alongside Karl Muscat from the Office of the Attorney General.

Schembri amassed millions of debt while heading the supermarket chain, fleeing the country with his wife and son in 2014. He is the cousin of former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri.

The chain and its debts have been linked to the murder of Carmel Chircop, a lawyer who was shot dead outside his garage in Birkirkara in October 2015.

Chircop has been confirmed to have fronted Adrian Agius, and his business partner Ryan Schembri around €750,000 which was to be used to fund the More Supermarkets chain that Agius and Schembri were involved in.