08 August 2011 -- 12:00CEST

http://www.di-ve.com/Default.aspx?ID=72&Action=1&NewsId=85236&newscategory=34

A man who was leaving Malta with more cash than he declared he had is claiming that he had been arrested illegally, days after he was acquitted of money laundering charges.

Carlos Frias Mateo, a 47-year-old Dutch citizen of Dominican origin, was arrested at the airport on September 26, 2009, while he was heading for Brussels a day after landing in Malta. He said that he was carrying €6,100, but searches showed that he was carrying €18,200 on his person and in his luggage.

The prosecution had pointed out that Mr Mateo had previous convictions on drug trafficking, but Magistrate Edwina Grima noted that it failed to sufficiently prove that Mr Mateo obtained the cash through illegal activities. He was, however, fined €4,530 for concealing information about the cash. The magistrate had pointed out that some charges Mr Mateo face could not be applied in the case of EU citizens travelling between EU countries, as they breached the EU’s freedom of movement of capital.

Mr Mateo, who is being represented by lawyer Joe Brincat, is appealing the sentence and insisting that his arrest was illegal, noting that he spent a significant time behind bars after being denied bail.