A man has been charged with taking part in an armed robbery of a foreign exchange bureau in St Julians on Sunday morning when €20,000 worth of currency and other monetary items are alleged to have been stolen.

Keith Galea, 30, of Sta Venera, pleaded not guilty to the theft of various currencies, mobile phone top-up cards and gift vouchers from the Fexco bureau.

The hold-up took place at around 9.20 a.m. when a hooded man walked up to the till, fired two shots at the bulletproof glass and demanded money from the salesman. The police suspect there were four men involved in the robbery but, so far, only Mr Galea has been charged.

The accused also pleaded not guilty to holding Josef Aquilina, the salesman, against his will and using violence against him, damaging the bulletproof window, firing a weapon in an inhabited area and carrying it without a police licence.

He also denied stealing a Hyundai Accent and a pair of licence plates and putting these on the car.

An eyewitness had told The Times that a hooded man ran out of the bureau and jumped into a silver Hyundai, where there were another three men waiting. The getaway car was found by the police in the Swieqi-San Ġwann area soon after the incident.

The salesman, whose hands were bound with tie belts, ran out of the bureau, and was cut loose by a neighbouring shopkeeper, who called the police.

Mr Galea also pleaded not guilty to hiding evidence from the police and to relapsing.

Magistrate Audrey Demicoli remanded Mr Galea in custody.

Police Inspectors Joseph Mercieca and Nikolai Sant prosecuted while lawyer Giannella Caruana Curran appeared for Mr Galea.