An Italian man convicted of defrauding Casino di Venezia in 2006 had his jail term reduced by a year and was allowed to serve his time in Italy.

The Court of Criminal Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice David Scicluna, upheld his submissions that the crimes had a common design and should therefore be taken as continuous. The judge also accepted that Fabio Zulian, 49, was an accomplice to money laundering and not the instigator in it.

Earlier this year, Mr Zulian was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined €20,000 after he was found guilty of fraud and money laundering involving cheques and money transfers that did not belong to him.

The judge accepted that Fabio Zulian was an accomplice to money laundering and not the instigator

He was originally arraigned in 2006, together with two other men – Gaetano Caramazza, 65, and Slovenian Nevio Barut, 50 – and accused of defrauding the Casino di Venezia of approxi-mately €172,000.

Mr Caramazza committed suicide and Mr Barut filed a guilty plea. He was jailed for three years and fined €7,000 in 2007.

In 2013, Mr Zulian was granted permission to go to Italy but failed to return for the continuation of his case.

He was brought back to Malta after a European arrest warrant was issued.