One of the three men currently charged with the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has been cleared of attempting to defraud the Casino di Venezia after the only witness said he was too scared of retribution to testify.
Vincent Muscat had been facing criminal proceedings alongside another co-accused, over a case of attempted fraud exceeding €2,329, by using a third party’s registration details and by bribing one of the casino’s croupiers.
The croupier, Brian Dingli, had been enticed to participate in the online gambling fraud by means of a call received on a mobile phone placed on the windscreen of his car.
Subsequently, CCTV footage from the casino had revealed the croupier’s suspicious movements as he did not shuffle the cards, hid his hands beneath the table and used his mobile after taking a break.
Mr Dingli was eventually charged and was found guilty of his involvement in the fraud.
The players in the scheme, allegedly Mr Muscat and another co-accused, Mario Spiteri, were making use of an account belonging to a certain Joseph Buttigieg from Gozo who eventually admitted his involvement in the scheme and was also brought to justice.
Mr Buttigieg claimed to have passed on his account password to the two and had been present when the two gambled online, taking messages on their phone, then playing to win "considerable amounts".
Despite his admission, Mr Buttigieg was only charged four months later, being conditionally discharged in May 2008.
However, Mr Muscat was only charged in June 2008, with the first hearing taking place in September, by which time Mr Buttigieg had emigrated to Australia.
All attempts by local authorities to obtain Mr Buttigieg’s testimony by means of letters rogatory failed, with the Australian authorities finally informing their local counterparts in July 2018 that the witness was not willing to testify.
“The Australian Federal Police has advised Australia’s Central Authority that it does not have the resources available to facilitate Malta’s request as it is fully engaged with more serious crime... As you are aware, when Mr Buttigieg was approached by the AFP to provide a voluntary witness statement, he expressed his concern that the persons against whom he was testifying would seek retribution against him or his family in Malta, and that his family members were easily locatable given Malta’s size,” read the reply.
Without this crucial testimony, the court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, was left with no evidence linking the two accused to the alleged fraud and thereby pronounced their acquittal.
Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi was counsel to Mr Muscat.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia ware counsel to the other accused.