Two of the crimes allegedly to be faced by a number of former Pilatus Bank top officials have been time-barred, the lawyer for civil society group Repubblika told a court on Thursday.
Jason Azzopardi accused the State of “deliberately” allowing time to lapse, letting criminals off the hook.
The two crimes he claimed were time-barred are making a false declaration to a public authority and criminal association, which are both subject to a two and five-year prescription.
Azzopardi was making submissions before the Constitutional Court upon an appeal by the State Advocate seeking to reverse a decision by Mr Justice Ian Spiteri Bailey granting an interim measure to Repubblika.
That provisional remedy was to stop Magistrate Nadine Lia from continuing to hear the challenge proceedings in view of the “irremediable prejudice” Repubblika claimed to suffer if such interim measure were not upheld.
But while the case was being played out before the Magistrates’ Court and the First Hall, Civil Court, that “irremediable prejudice” has already occurred because two out of the four crimes have lapsed under a two-year prescription, Azzopardi said.
“I’m saying this here for the first time. And I’m going to shock you,” he told Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti and Mr Justices Giannino Caruana Demajo and Anthony Ellul.
He then went on to set out a time-line of events that led to the time-barring issue.
Last January, Repubblika had filed a criminal act, asking the Police Commissioner to prosecute a number of former Pilatus officials indicated in the conclusions of the magisterial inquiry into the alleged financial crimes at the now shuttered bank.
That act concerned four crimes.
Repubblika only received an acknowledgment.
In April, they sent a reminder and followed that up with an application to institute challenge proceedings on June 27.
When the case was assigned to Magistrate Lia, they immediately requested her recusal knowing that her father in law, lawyer Pawlu Lia, had assisted one of the persons who had an account at Pilatus Bank.
That request was also made in light of the fact that Magistrate Ian Farrugia, who conducted the Pilatus inquiry, had instructed re-opening of the Egrant inquiry, the terms of which had originally been set down by Joseph Muscat’s lawyer, Lia himself.
But between June and a few weeks ago, two of the crimes flagged by Repubblika were time-barred, said Azzopardi.
“That’s what the Police Commissioner wanted,” stressed the lawyer.
Those crimes, envisaged under Articles 188 and 83A(d) of the Criminal Code concerned making a false declaration to a public authority and criminal association, both subject to a two-year prescription.
And that term could only be interrupted upon service of criminal charges.
Time was wasted between June and October, he went on.
And that’s the “irremediable prejudice” suffered by Repubblika.
Repubblika was insisting that Judge Spiteri Bailey’s decision was to be confirmed, so that no more precious time is wasted and the challenge proceedings may proceed as soon as possible.
After the three judges briefly retired in chambers, they returned and deferred the case for a decision next week.
More to follow.
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