Fraud, bankruptcy case against Maltese lawyer starts in Italy
Patrick Spiteri could face up to 18 years’ jail sentence – Guardia di Finanza
David Darmanin Criminal proceedings in Italy started last Friday week against Patrick Spiteri, a former lawyer who stands accused of unlawful practices in the bankruptcy of Idroplax Srl, an Italian plastics manufacturing plant of which he was the administrator.
Spiteri had been placed under house arrest last April by a magistrate in Lucca. His case now continues with the complication of evidence on 7 May.
If found guilty, Spiteri risks being handed a jail sentence of anything from three and a half years to 18 years.
According to Lucca’s Guardia di Finanza (financial compliance corps) marshal Andrea Fambrini, who carried out the Idroplax investigation, Spiteri is accused of fraudulent bankruptcy and unlawful practices in simple bankruptcy – which together carry a maximum of 12 years’ jail time.
Evidence brought against Spiteri indicates he may have committed fraud by concealing information from his creditors. He also stands accused of making unauthorised payments by assuming roles in the company which he had previously resigned from.
On the accusations on simple bankruptcy, Spiteri allegedly “made personal expenses that were beyond his financial means,” contributing to dishonouring his company’s commitments with creditors.
The prosecuting officer also pointed at the possibility of Spiteri having made matters worse by delaying his declaration of bankruptcy – which is also punishable by law.
Fambrini pointed out that the maximum jail term for both crimes may be increased by half if Spiteri is found guilty of “causing considerable harm to the patrimony of his victims”, which would bring his maximum jail term from 12 years up to 18 years.
On 6 April, 2008, Lucca’s inquiring magistrate Marcella Spadaricci placed Spiteri under house arrest on suspicion of unlawful practices into the bankruptcy of Idroplax.
On 25 June, Spiteri was granted bail, after the revocation of the decision on house arrest just six months before the first court hearing. Guardia di Finanza Colonel Antonio Leone told MaltaToday this was normal practice in Italy, since it would no longer make sense to detain someone when “there is no longer doubt of any tampering with evidence”.
Spiteri had been the chairman of Idroplax since June 2008, and previously, he was registered as one of the directors in an Idroplax shareholding company. Since 2007, according to the Italian national press, he allegedly carried out various actions to siphon off money from Idroplax and eventually leading 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 news agency had reported that the magistrate suspected some €400,000 were siphoned off from the firm between 2007 and 2008.
Spiteri was perpetually suspended from the Maltese 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.
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