There were seven reports of usury this year, and four persons were charged in court.

Answering a parliamentary question by Labour MP Chris Agius, Justice Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said usury carried with it a jail sentence of not more than 18 months and the payment of a fine between €2,329.37 and €34,940.60.

The court would also order anybody found guilty to refund the excessive amount which it would have considered disproportionate to the original loan.

If the convicted person refunded this amount to the victim before the end of the court case they would benefit from a reduction of sentence.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.