Silvio Grixti’s benefits racket cost €6 million in taxpayer money, court hears

George Cremona, Director of Benefits Compliance with the Social Justice Ministry, told a court on Friday that over €6,000,000 were claimed through disability benefits racket.

Former Labour MP, Silvio Grixti, along with four other individuals were charged over their alleged involvement in enabling a largescale social benefits fraud.

All of the accused are charged with money laundering, fraud, organised crime and falsifying documents. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Spagnol and Dustin Caruana are also being charged with breaching bail conditions. All defendants claim that they are not guilty.

Grixti, a 49-year-old doctor appeared in court together with Roger Agius, 45 years old, Emmanuel Spagnol, 69 years old, Dustin Caruana, 36 years old, and Luke Saliba, 33 years old, as they faced charges relating to fraud and organised crime. A few weeks ago, Roger Agius had called for a magisterial inquiry to investigate the social benefits fraud racket, offering to blow the lid off organised criminal activity he claims to have participated in, if granted whistleblower status. In court, Agius and Caruana said that they are employed in the Public Works Department.

On Friday, the prosecution requested a general freezing order on the defendants’ assets. The request was upheld by court, and the prosecution was given 90 days to specify which assets were to be frozen.

The prosecution presented statements taken from the accused. First to be questioned by the police was Grixti in November 2021, as he was questioned again in November 2023. All other defendants were questioned in 2023. In the case of Agius, he gave the police four statements from October 2023 until the 21st of February 2024.

First on the witness stand on Friday was James Camilleri, an officer from the police’s cybercrime unit. Camilleri presented a twoterabyte hard disc containing extracts from Grixti’s mobile phone and laptop.

Silvio Grixti tight-lipped during police interrogation

Following Camilleri was Timothy Zammit, an ex-Inspector within the cybercrime unit who was involved in the investigations. Zammit said that on 26 November 2021, his assistance was requested with regard to an FCID investigation surrounding the ex-MP.

Zammit explained that with the assistance of the police, he had collected information from computers in a number of clinics in which Grixti worked, as well as his mobile phone. He detailed how during his interrogation, Grixti had remained tight-lipped.

Zammit’s role in the investigation was to search for documents belonging to a certain Frank Farrugia. Zammit explained that Farrugia was suspected of using forged documents, and when asked by the police, he said that the documents were given to him by Silvio Grixti.

The former inspector told the court that after running the computer’s data through forensic software, as well as sifting through the data himself, he had found 630 files which were suspicious. He further highlighted that although he had found documents with Farrugia’s name on them, he had also found almost identical documents belonging to other individuals.

Among the findings were a number of documents containing letterheads at the top, content which can be edited in the middle, as well as spaces for signatures on the bottom of the documents. This kind of document, Zammit explained, could be indicative of forged documents.

The findings featured Transport Malta documents, as well as medical documents belonging to different patients, but the majority had the same medical results and featured the same dates.

Cross-examined by defence lawyer, Franco Debono, Zammit was pressed on whether or not his instructions were solely related to documents featuring Frank Farrugia, to which the exInspector responded in the positive.

Anthony Scerri, another former inspector hailing from the FCID was next to take the witness stand. Scerri detailed how in October 2021, he had received an email from OPM Permanent Secretary, Joyce Cassar, informing the police that Frank Farrugia had presented fabricated medical certificates.

After seeing the documents in question, Scerri had questioned the doctor, Peter Muscat, whose signature was on the documents. Muscat had told the inspector that Farrugia was not a client of his, and that the documents in question contained different wording than what he would write.

Frank Farrugia tells police Silvio Grixti provided forged documents

After arresting and interrogating Farrugia, he had refused his right to a legal representative and admitted to using the forged documents, as he told the police that they were given to him by Silvio Grixti.

The witness detailed how the racket had kept unfolding before him as he questioned other doctors whose name featured in the forged documents. Scerri said that the investigation had also led to the discovery of Transport Malta documents, which the authority had explained that their function was to revoke the driving license of those who are entitled to severe disability social benefits.

The witness was asked by Jason Azzopardi whether OPM employees Sonia Abela and Ray Mizzi had ever featured in his investigations, to which he replied in the negative.

The third witness was Frankie Farrugia, the person indicated by OPM as a person who made use of falsified documents. Farrugia told the court that he had already been charged in connection with the use of false documents.

Silvio Grixti: ‘Do what I tell you and you’ll have no problems’

The witness explained that he works in Mater Dei Hospital, and that after he was feeling depressed, he went to Silvio Grixti when he was sitting in a clinic in Ħal Għaxaq. According to Farrugia, Grixti gave him three letters signed by Peter Muscat in three different visits.

The witness explained how he had told Grixti that he had never even seen Peter Muscat, to which Grixti is said to have responded, “Do what I tell you and you’ll have no problems.”

According to Farrugia, Grixti’s instructions were to tell the board that he had long been a patient of Muscat. Farrugia later claimed that he had not received any social benefits. He further explained that his visits to Grixti’s clinic would occur every time the medical board had sent for him.

€6,000,000 were claimed through the racket

The last witness on Friday was George Cremona, a Director of Benefits Compliance within the Social Justice Ministry.

His testimony detailed the fraudulent social benefit payments sent to defendants Roger

Agius and Luke Saliba. Cremona said that with regard to Agius, his payments had started back in 2016 and ended last November, as he had received upwards of €43,000 in benefits and has not yet paid any of them back.

Despite being a beneficiary of the social benefits, Cremona said that his application did not contain a neurologist or psychiatrist report as is required by law.

When it comes to Luke Saliba, the witness said that his request for social benefits was accepted in January 2019, where he received more than €23,000 before the benefits were cut off.

On a general note, Cremona said that over €6,000,000 were claimed through the racket, which was split between 321 cases.

The sitting will continue on 17 April at 11:00am.