The Valletta jeweller who stands charged with accepting stolen precious items amounting to some €330,000 was yesterday named as George Tabone.

The publication of his name had previously been prohibited by the court but the ban was yesterday lifted after his assets were ordered to be frozen.

Mr Tabone, 53, the owner of Gram Collections Limited, was arraigned last week after the thieves who stole the jewellery claimed they sold it to Mr Tabone for a pittance compared to its real worth.

The jeweller’s lawyers, Michael and Lucio Sciriha, had argued that making his name public would do untold damage to him personally and to his business.

Police Inspectors James Grech and Joseph Mercieca then asked the court to freeze his assets and the request was yesterday upheld by Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano.

The judge also ordered that Mr Tabone’s companies, Gram Collections Limited, Gram Jewellers Limited and Gram Holdings Limited, also be frozen and a list of all his assets drawn up. The judge said that once his name had to be published because of the order to freeze his assets, the ban on publication of his name was also being lifted.

Last week, one of the convicted thieves, Glen Debattista, 52, told the court how, together with his son Ryan, 21, and their friend Carmel Hartley, 40, he had stolen the jewellery from Pjazza Antiques in South Street, Valletta, in August 2011.

They had broken into the shop from an adjoining property and then split the stolen items at his house after looking at the price tags.

Mr Debattista said when they sold the items on to Mr Tabone he was told they had been stolen. In fact he switched off the CCTV cameras in the shop when he accepted them.

The gold was sold for a total of €20,000, leaving Mr Debattista feeling “robbed” by Mr Tabone because it was a pittance considering what the items were actually worth.

The case continues.