Bank manager speaks of currency movements in money laundering case

Telephone calls made by prisoners and intercepted by police revealed a conspiracy to import drugs from Holland via Sicily, a court heard yesterday.

Assistant commissioner Michael Cassar told a court that Mario Camilleri financed the operation by lending Charles Muscat money in return for some of the cocaine and cannabis.

He testified before Magistrate Abigail Lofaro in the compilation of evidence against Mario Camilleri, 40, his mother Maria Stella, 63, and his son Pierre, 21, on a money laundering charge.

Maria Stella Camilleri is also charged with two counts of forgery while Pierre Camilleri is charged with one.

The assistant commissioner yesterday said he supervised the investigations into a drug importation case led by Inspectors Neil Harrison and Norbert Ciappara.

Maltese police went to Sicily on the basis of the information gleaned from the telephone calls and managed to intercept four kilogrammes of cocaine and about a kilogramme of cannabis with the help of Italian police.

A controlled delivery was carried out and two Maltese men were arrested when they went to pick up the drugs.

Bank manager Clifford Pace said Maria Stella Camilleri had opened a fixed deposit account of Lm20,000 at the Bank of Valletta's l-Ibrag branch.

When he asked her about the origin of the money she explained that she had sold a garage and produced the sale documents.

Pace said Maria Stella Camilleri also asked him if she could deposit more money in the account. He told her that she could, especially since that way she was increasing business for the bank.

So she deposited another Lm14,000 in cash which she moved from HSBC. Pace explained that the money still had the HSBC tags when she deposited it at BOV.

Pace said Maria Stella Camilleri usually went to the bank with a younger woman who he believed was Mario Camilleri's wife Mona. He said that the accounts were in Maria Stella Camilleri's name and only she had access to them.

Some time later she asked for a Lm10,000 loan to buy some furniture. The loan was given to her against a Lm16,000 fixed deposit account on her name. She was to pay the loan over five years in Lm200 monthly instalments, Mr Pace said.

"When I asked Mrs Camilleri how she was going to pay the loan she told me that since she received about Lm150 in pension money every month she would pay a certain amount and her nephew would pay the difference.

"Mrs Camilleri paid regularly. I never suspected her of anything since we had no idea who she was related to. She was just Mrs Camilleri and we treated her like we would any client," he said.

"When she wanted to open the Lm10,000 loan account I did not ask her for documents to prove that she was actually going to buy furniture since she had a fixed account of Lm16,000 as security."

Pace went on to explain that after several regular monthly payments were made and the loan's balance had reached Lm7,800, Mrs Camilleri asked for the loan to be increased by Lm9,000 because she wanted to buy a Mercedes Benz.

The bank agreed to give her the loan and issued a cheque for Lm9,000 payable to Premiere Car Sales.

The case continues.

Inspectors Paul Vassallo and Ian Abdilla are prosecuting with the assistance of counsel to the republic Dr Donatella Frendo Dimech.

Dr Raphael Fenech Adami is appearing for Maria Stella Camilleri while Dr Jason Azzopardi and Dr Kris Busietta and Dr Ian Farrugia and Dr Philip Galea Farrugia are counsel to Mario and Pierre Camilleri.