Malta’s honorary consul for San Marino, Luigi Lombardo, has been suspended from his office pending the appeal after being handed down a one-year suspended sentence for usury. In March of 2007, the l’Aquila tribunal had found Lombardo, 52, guilty in his capacity as legal representative of Eurofin, a firm in which the Finart consortium and SMEs lobby Confartigianato are shareholders.
Lombardo was accused of lending EUR19,500 to an entrepreneur from l’Aquila at an interest rate that totalled 35 per cent, which was over and above the rates normally applied by banking institutions.
Lombardo was also a president of Confartigianato.
Lombardo had been under investigation on charges of usury since 2003, but remains listed as part of Malta’s consular corps up to this day. He was indicted by the abruzzese Guardia di Finanza on usury charges after having loaned moneys through Eurofin and Finart, of which he was legal representative and administrator respectively.
In comments to MaltaToday, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs said Lombardo’s case is sub judice in appeal before the Italian Courts. “The Ministry has decisively addressed cases of this nature before but in this case it is awaiting the final and definitive court sentence and will then take the logical steps accordingly.”
Hours later, the ministry informed MaltaToday that Minister Michael Frendo had suspended the consul.