The case against Magistrate Monica Vella over unpaid VAT returns will be dropped after she settled her pending taxes. 

Lovin Malta had first revealed Vella was charged on 23rd July over discrepancies in her stated income from work Vella conducted prior to becoming a member of the judiciary. 

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

Now, sources within the tax department have told the Times of Malta that the magistrate has since settled the issues with officials now kicking off the process to get the charges dropped.

Vella’s charges came 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.