Two Latvian men who were jailed for three years in August after they admitted to using counterfeit credit cards had the term reduced to 13 months on appeal today.

Edgards Kervis, 20 and Eriks Zakis, 20, were jailed for using the counterfeit cards at two casinos in July and were jailed for three years. In their appeal they claimed the punishment was excessive and that the magistrates court failed to mitigate the punishment in view of the fact that they had admitted to the charges very early on in the proceedings.

They also argued that they had not benefited from the full amounts withdrawn but were acting on behalf of a much larger ring.

Mr Justice David Scicluna in his ruling today said that while considering the seriousness of the offences, the court must also keep in mind that they admitted to the charges at the earliest possible opportunity, that is to say on the same day they were charged before the Magistrates’ Court. This allowed them to benefit from a reduction in the punishment.

The judge added that although they admitted to the charges as formulated, they did not personally benefit from the full amounts mentioned in the charges. Furthermore both men are young first time offenders with clean conduct records.

Nonetheless, in view of the nature of the offences committed by them, an effective prison term was deemed essential.