Former lawyer Patrick Spiteri has had his bail revoked following an appeal by the Attorney General. 

In a decision this morning, the court ruled that house arrest, which was essentially what Mr Spiteri's strict bail conditions decreed,  was a form of arrest rather than bail. 

Had the magistrate's court wanted to grant Mr Spiteri bail, judge Edwina Grima ruled, it should have granted him effective liberty rather than confining him in a state of arrest at his house. 

Citing European Court of Human Rights judgements, the judge quashed the bail decree. 

READ: Spiteri afraid of scabies in prison

Mr Spiteri was extradited to Malta from England in May to face charges of fraud and misappropriation of €7.4 million, after a Times of Malta investigation revealed he was living on an estate in Surrey. He has been held in custody since then, despite multiple bail requests. 

Mr Spiteri's requests have been based on health considerations - he says his medical condition is exacerbated by excessive smoke inside prison - as well as his need to physically access hundreds of boxes of documents he says he needs for his defence.

Some of the documents are being held in court with others in a Guardamangia property which has been seized by HSBC.

Earlier this week, magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit had assessed his alleged crimes as being “serious but not most serious”, and granted him bail under very strict conditions.

Aside from providing substantial monetary guarantees, Spiteri was to hand in his ID card and passport to court and was prohibited from leaving his residence under any circumstances. Police were to ensure that he was sticking to the conditions by visiting three times a week.

The Attorney General filed an appeal against the decree the next day, and that decision has now been overturned.  Madam Justice Grima did not say whether Mr Spiteri ought to be given bail.

Lawyer Stefano Filletti is defence counsel to Mr Spiteri.