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‘Whistleblower being treated like a criminal’

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A 75-year-old man was yesterday charged with blackmailing the head of the Government’s internal audit bureau, Rita Schembri, who herself is at centre of an investigation. Joseph Borg ,from Swieqi, was denied bail after he was charged with urgency before Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera with sending a defamatory e-mail on Monday, in which he tried to blackmail Ms Schembri and her husband, Mark. He was arrested on Thursday and spent 24 hours in police custody. Prosecuting inspector Chris Pullicino said Mr Borg had demanded Ms Schembri pay two Nigerians a substantial sum of money within a set timeframe or he would report her to the EU Anti-Fraud Agency (OLAF) for allegedly trying to circumvent the conditions of a lease agreement. The agreement concerns a bar in Buġibba, which Mr Borg leased to the Schembris in 1995. They in turn rented the premises to a Nigerian couple but in the process breached the conditions of the lease agreement and tried to conceal this, according to a 2009 court judgment. Mr Borg’s lawyer, Edward Debono, said his client was actually a whistleblower who tried to expose the fact and was being treated like a criminal. He contended in court that Mr Borg did not...

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