Two former officials of  Malta Air Services Ltd, Lawrence Fenech and Ian Falzon, are to be accused of fraud and misappropriation in excess of €150,000.

The arraignments follow an investigation by the Internal Audit and Investigation Department which started in 2011.

Malta Air Services is a government company that provides air navigation services.

Informed sources said the men allegedly abusively used a government-issued Visa card to buy items which ranged from clothes to mobile phones as well as restaurant meals. In one year alone, some €92,000 was spent.

The same report found double dipping practice where Mr Falzon and Mr Fenech would buy items on the credit card only to use the receipts to claim the money back in cash.

Mr Falzon’s case was due to be heard in court this morning but it was postponed to March 10 after his lawyers argued that his case and that of Mr Fenech should be heard together since there were a number of common witnesses.

The court agreed.

Police Inspector Ian Abdilla said this case covered the period from 2008 to 2010 and the police had managed to confirmed abusive transactions of over €100,000. The company however, needed more time to conclude its investigations.

Lawyer Alex Sciberras, appearing for the company, said the company needed some two to three weeks to conclude its financial investigation.