Police investigating alleged money laundering activities by Darren Debono and Jeffrey Chetcuti had not checked whether what they suspected were illicit layering of funds were actually legitimate business transactions. This emerged on Wednesday when criminal proceedings continued against the two former footballers who were arrested in November 2020 in a far-reaching sting operation concerning an international fuel smuggling ring. Both spent months in preventive custody after pleading not guilty to money laundering and smuggling offences upon their arraignment. The two returned to court on Wednesday for a hearing during which Inspector James Turner explained how investigations into the alleged fuel smuggling racket between Libya and Italy had kicked off in 2013 and had then been handled by his predecessor then-Inspector Antonovitch Muscat. Debono’s companies and their relative bank accounts came under the lens as investigators sought to analyse business transactions, focusing also on closed accounts as well as vehicles and vessels over the years between 2013 and 2020. Police had also gathered paperwork related to the importation of fuel from Libya by Debono, as broker for local...