Jul.01, 2010

A father and son were granted bail yesterday, after they pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering.

Alfred Delia, 65 and his son Marco, 43, both from Zabbar, faced charges of money laundering when three cars, two BMW’s and a Pajero, were registered in their name. The cars, purchased from Premier Car Sales in Burmarrad, are believed to have been obtained using funds which came from criminal activity.

The two men are related to Frederick and Roderick Delia, who were charged earlier this month with trafficking in heroin, possession of cocaine not for their own personal use and money laundering.

The major proof in this case is documentation, defence lawyer Arthur Azzopardi said, in defence of his request for bail for the two men. Moreover if they were not granted bail they might meet with the other two, as there was no guarantee this could be avoided.

Police Inspector Antonovich Muscat said that there were still some witnesses who had to give evidence, and for that reason opposed bail.

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit granted the two men bail on a number of conditions, including that they do not go anywhere near Burmarrad and the witnesses. They were granted bail against a deposit of e1,000 each and a personal guarantee of e10,000.