Lawyers appearing for former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri, as well as his father, and Kasco Group CEO Malcolm Scerri and financial controller Robert Zammit, have submitted an application in court on behalf of his clients behind closed doors. 

The application was filed towards the end of today’s sitting which heard a representative from audit firm Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) describe audits of Progress Press’s accounts, as well as various representatives from Maltese banks who submitted information about the men’s financial dealings, to the court. 

All four men have been charged with crimes related to corruption and money laundering. Scerri, Zammit and Alfio Schembri were present in court today. The former chief of staff was once again absent as he continues to receive treatment for a cancer he has been diagnosed with. 

It is unclear whether the defence’s application is linked to Schembri’s medical condition. 

During the sitting, the court heard Simon Flynn and Kurt Sciberras, both from PWC, describe what they knew about the grant that the company had applied for from Malta Enterprise. 

In the last sitting the court heard how Progress Press had applied for a grant of €1.6 million to purchase new printing press equipment. Specifically, the sitting centred around the fact that Progress Press had, in its application to Malta Enterprise for the grant, itself included consumables in its workings about how much the project would cost. 

This detail appears to have gone unnoticed on the part of Malta Enterprise, whose officials told the court that they had not bothered to ask any questions about the proposal before recommending its acceptance.