Process to extradite Adrian Hillman from UK has started
Prime Minister Robert Abela has confirmed that Malta has asked the UK to extradite Adrian Hillman, the former Allied Newspapers managing director.
Hillman is wanted on charges of money laundering and graft
and has been living in a suburb of London with his family in the vicinity of
Goldsmiths University, where he is studying.
“The process has started to repatriate Hillman and start the
judicial process in his regard as it has already started in other cases,” Abela
said on Wednesday.
Sources close to the investigation told MaltaToday that the
police and the office of the Attorney General sent a detailed request to their
UK counterparts seeking Hillman’s extradition to face justice in Malta.
When contacted, the police in Malta said it was “not in a
position to confirm or otherwise” the information.
Hillman is wanted on charges of money laundering and graft
linked to the purchase of printing machines by the Allied Group when he was
managing director.
An investigation has revealed how Hillman received €650,000
from former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff Keith Schembri, who
owns the company Kasco that supplied the printing press. But testimony given by
police suggests that Hillman could have received some €1 million in unexplained
payments through offshore companies.
A fortnight ago, the police charged 11 people, including
Vince Buhagiar, another former managing director at Allied Newspapers, on
multiple counts of money laundering, forgery, fraud and corruption.
Charges were also filed against Schembri’s business partners
and his accountants, Brian Tonna and Karl Cini from Nexia BT.
The owners of MFSP, renamed Zenith Finance, were also
charged for handling the investment accounts of Hillman and Buhagiar through
which the alleged graft money flowed.
All 11 accused have been granted bail after spending almost
three weeks in prison. The cases against them are ongoing.
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