A sales agent who swindled a Libyan friend by enticing him into a joint business venture which never materialised was declared guilty by a Magistrates’ Court and condemned to a jail term of three years.

Joanne Sciberras, 39, had sparked off the whole affair in November 2014 when she asked the man, whom she had known for 20 years, for a loan to cover VAT payments needed to obtain clearance of a container-load of energy drinks through Customs.

The man, who regularly met the accused when she took orders for the supply of merchandise to his shop, duly handed over some €2,400 to the woman.

Two days later, he was informed that the profits from the eventual sale of the energy drinks, expected to total some €20,000, would be shared equally between them.

The woman, whose job was allegedly to secure contacts with businesses abroad for the purpose of importing merchandise to Malta, asked her Libyan friend whether he was interested in setting up a joint business venture, importing food and beverages for re-export to the Libyan market.

The man agreed to the proposition and handed over a cheque for €4,000, which he borrowed from his employer, so that his business partner might secure the delivery of five containers of merchandise from Cyprus.

‘Anxious’ for the arrival of these containers, the man’s suspicion gradually turned to unease when, two months later, the promised goods had not arrived.

During criminal proceedings for misappropriation and fraud, the woman had testified that the alleged victim had handed over the first sum for her own personal use, after she had told him that she was at the time going through a rough patch.

She further admitted that she had used the €4,000 cheque to purchase clothes and hampers from Catania, insisting, however, that the victim had known about this.

However, on the basis of all the evidence, including the victim’s testimony which was corroborated by the depositions of a Customs Clearance Officer, an auditor and the victim’s employer, the court concluded that the misappropriation had been proven.

It was evident that the victim had been under the impression that the first payment was to obtain clearance of the container through Customs, while the second sum was to import five containers from Cyprus for re-export to the Libyan market.

The court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, declared the woman guilty of misappropriation. In view of her criminal record, the fact that she had not refunded the victim and was unlikely to do so on account of ‘her precarious financial state’, the court condemned her to a jail term of three years.

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