Matthew Vella
National Italian press and Tuscan region newspapers are reporting the arrest of Patrick Spiteri, 45, the Maltese lawyer whose career is peppered with incursions with the law.
Spiteri was reported to have been the chairman and sole administrator of biodegrable plastic manufacturer Idroplax Srl, declared bankrupt since October 2008.
News agency ANSA said Spiteri was put under house arrest for the duration of the inquiry by the Lucca magistrate and the revenue security corps (Guardia di Finanza) on alleged fraudulent bankruptcy.
Other industrial machines from the factory were seized and some €300,000 in the firm’s bank accounts frozen.
Spiteri had been the chairman of Idroplax since June 2008. According to magistrate Piero Capizzoto, as chairman Spiteri is suspected of having since 2007 carried out various actions to siphon off money from Idroplax and taking it into bankruptcy.
In one case, all the factory’s machines appeared to have been transferred to another firm at the expense of Idroplax. ANSA reported that the magistrate suspects some €400,000 were siphoned off from the firm between 2007 and 2008.
Idroplax was acquired in 2005 by British firm SPDG Technologies in a joint venture with Spiteri’s company Quartet Global.
Spiteri was then the registered director-shareholder of Symphony Global and the director of Quartet Global, two consultancy firms at Clutha House, a prestigious office in the heart of Westminster.
SPDG Technologies, Symphony Global and Quartet Global are also listed as shareholdings of Conservative MP Tony Baldry.
When SPDG acquired Idroplax, the company had a €1.4 million turnover and plans for expansion.
According to Tony Baldry’s declaration of interests, Symphony Global “promotes business development between companies in the UK and business in Eastern Europe.”
Company documents then listed Spiteri’s address in Farnham, Surrey. Ajidraw Properties, a subsidiary of Spiteri’s Foresight Holdings, was also shareholder company in Symphony Global.
Chequered past
Spiteri’s notoriety stems from a series of fraud charges that have punctured his career as a tax expert who had helped the Labour government devise the short-lived Customs and Excise Tax (CET) to replace VAT in 1996.
In 2002, he was charged with fraud for conning the Elizabeth Pierre Pierre Albert consultancy firm in Brussels into buying 25% of their equity. According to the charges, Spiteri never paid the €3 million for the shares.
Spiteri was suspended perpetually from the bar on the recommendation of the Commission for the Administration of Justice, after being found guilty of falsification in 2004 and sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, suspended for four years.
Spiteri was again charged in court of defrauding Oscar-winning songwriter Leslie Bricusse, whom Spiteri had advised to invest GBP150,000 in local bonds. Bricusse claimed none of his money had ever been invested, presenting documents in court which he claimed were false. Bricusse said Spiteri had called his lawyer to offer USD3,000 to drop the court action against him.
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