A 75-year-old man was yesterday charged with blackmailing the head of the Government’s internal audit bureau, Rita Schembri, who herself is at centre of an investigation.
Is this how we encourage citizens to speak up?
Joseph Borg ,from Swieqi, was denied bail after he was charged with urgency before Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera with sending a defamatory e-mail on Monday, in which he tried to blackmail Ms Schembri and her husband, Mark.
He was arrested on Thursday and spent 24 hours in police custody.
Prosecuting inspector Chris Pullicino said Mr Borg had demanded Ms Schembri pay two Nigerians a substantial sum of money within a set timeframe or he would report her to the EU Anti-Fraud Agency (OLAF) for allegedly trying to circumvent the conditions of a lease agreement.
The agreement concerns a bar in Buġibba, which Mr Borg leased to the Schembris in 1995.
They in turn rented the premises to a Nigerian couple but in the process breached the conditions of the lease agreement and tried to conceal this, according to a 2009 court judgment.
Mr Borg’s lawyer, Edward Debono, said his client was actually a whistleblower who tried to expose the fact and was being treated like a criminal.
He contended in court that Mr Borg did not demand money for himself but had warned Ms Schembri to settle dues that she allegedly owed the Nigerian couple or he would report her.
The prosecution, on the other hand, contends the e-mail was a blackmail attempt and said that language in the message was defamatory.
An angry Dr Debono told The Sunday Times after the hearing that the handling of his client and the way he had been denied bail sent a negative message to society.
“Is this how we encourage citizens to question people in authority and speak up when they feel something is wrong, by sending a 75-year-old man to prison?” he asked.
The development adds a new twist to the story involving Ms Schembri, after it was revealed on Friday that the Attorney General would be investigating claims she breached a code of ethics when she allegedly used her government office to conduct private business.
Ms Schembri asked for the investigation herself to clear her name.
The move came after entrepreneur Philip Rizzo disclosed e-mails to Malta Today that suggested Ms Schembri had used her office to discuss an investment proposal by Far East Entertainment Group plc to acquire a stake in Casinò di Venezia.
She originally made headlines after ex-Commissioner John Dalli questioned her role as a member of the supervisory committee of the EU’s anti-fraud agency OLAF, which in October revealed details of an investigation that led to his resignation.