Former Allied Group managing director Adrian Hillman spent the weekend in prison despite being granted bail during his arraignment because no banks were open fo
Ronald Agius, former managing director of Allied Newspapers and Progress Press, has died, aged 88.
Born in Sliema, Agius was educated at St Edward’s College and joined Progress Press in 1962 as a manager in the Publication Department.
He was subsequently appointed managing director of Allied Newspapers in 1968 and chairman of Progress Press in 1979. Agius left Allied Newspapers Ltd in 2003, having spent 41 years with the company, including 38 as managing director.
Agius was a founding member of the council of the Strickland Foundation and was a long-time member of the Malta Employers Association, serving as council member between 1975 and 1981, vice-president between 1981 and 1982 and president between 1984 and 1985. He was on the council of the Federation of Industries between 1975 and 1981, a council member of the Malta Printing Association as well a member of the Commonwealth Press Union.
No reason at all why ex-Progress Press officials should face charges timesofmalta.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofmalta.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Former Progress Press chairman Vince Buhagiar could not explain hundreds of thousands of euro he received from Keith Schembri, telling investigators that those were payments for consultancy services forming part of a “gentlemen’s agreement.”
Buhagiar, who is pleading not guilty to money laundering offences, received amounts over US$134,000, US$105,000 and €50,000 from a Gibraltar-based company, Malmos Ltd, owned by Schembri.
Details were disclosed on Tuesday by Inspector Ian Camilleri from the anti money laundering squad at the Financial Crimes Investigation Department when testifying in the ongoing compilation of evidence against Buhagiar.
Buhagiar, who was granted bail upon being arraigned last month, sat in court as the witness divulged further details about an email traced by police from Schembri to a ‘VB’ concerning a transfer of US$35,000.
The belief of many that Malta is a truly mafia state has been reinforced by recent shocking revelations about the brutal murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and the charges of corruption and financial crime brought in court against 11 persons close to the corridors of power in connection with two magisterial inquiries.
Disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri featured in two inquiries and faces the largest number of charges that include money laundering, criminal conspiracy, corruption, fraud and forgery.
The first magisterial inquiry concerned an alleged undisclosed commission of €100,000 in kickbacks to Schembri from Brian Tonna, managing partner of financial consulting company Nexia BT, on the sale of Maltese passports to three Russian nationals in the cash-for-passports citizenship programme.