“I love treasure,” read a comment posted near pictures on Facebook showing some of the money allegedly stolen from a Swieqi villa, a boy said in court yesterday.

The boy was testifying in the compilation of evidence of two Indonesian women – Elsih Rohman Balimulia, 27, and Soraya Meyer, 50 – who are being charged with stealing €280,000 from a safe and with money laundering.

The 12-year-old son of a wealthy Libyan businessman spotted the photos by accident while going through the Facebook posts of their housekeeper while on a family trip in Germany last September. Testifying via a videoconferencing link, the boy said he immediately became suspicious because the photographs had been taken in their penthouse, which was also the housekeeper’s living quarters.

Charged with stealing €280,000 from a safe and with money laundering

A comment in Indonesian was posted next to the photo and when the boy used the Facebook translation function he discovered it meant “I love treasure.”

He alerted his mother, and some of his siblings flew to Malta to find out what was going on. It later transpired that their housekeeper had passed the money to Ms Meyer, who lived in a nearby villa, the witness said.

A document exhibited in court showed that Ms Meyer had transferred a large sum of money, exceeding €40,000, via Western Union to Indonesia.

Magistrate Josette Demicoli declared that there was enough evidence for the accused to be indicted.

A request for bail by Ms Meyer was upheld against a deposit of €10,000 and a number of conditions.

Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Simon Micallef Stafrace appeared for Ms Meyer and Ms Balimulia, respectively.

Lawyers Michael Sciriha and Lucio Sciriha were parte civile for the businessman.