Alleged loan sharks wanted ‘25 per cent interest a month’

Two suspected loan sharks yesterday denied charges of usury in which they allegedly lent €4,000 to a man and expected €1,000 back in interest per month after that.

Francis Formosa, 39, and Joseph Brincat, 48, denied the charge and also pleaded not guilty to threatening the same person. Mr Formosa alone denied breaching the conditions of a previous release.

The prosecution claims that by this month, the men ended up expecting to be paid back €17,000 in all.

Police Inspector Ivan Cilia asked the court to deny bail because of the severity of the crime.

Defence lawyers Joseph Giglio and Gianella Caruana Curran said the charges were not as serious as the prosecution was making them out to be.

Magistrate Silvio Meli granted the men bail against a deposit of €5,000 and a personal guarantee of €10,000.