Butcher Couple in Tarxien Sentenced for Money Laundering and Ordered to Repay Social Benefits Cheques

A husband and wife duo from Tarxien, owners of a popular butcher’s shop, were recently sentenced and ordered to repay money they illegally made by cashing social benefit cheques for their customers.

Investigation and Discovery

Anthony Manicaro, 62, and his wife, Mary Grace Manicaro, 60, came under investigation for money laundering after the Maltese authorities discovered suspicious transactions involving Social Security cheques worth €2 million at their poultry store between 2013 and 2020. However, their declared annual income amounted to only €20,000.

The investigation led the authorities to the following discoveries:

• The couple had made €32,000 from the cashing of their clients’ cheques, charging some of them a small fee of €5.
• A large number of Social Security cheques were deposited into the couple’s joint bank account, many issued by the Central Bank or third parties.

Witness Testimonies

Several of the shop’s underprivileged customers testified that it was “convenient” for them to cash their cheques at the Manicaros’ store, saving them the long queues at the post office or bank branches. Witness testimonies included:

• A father of five who had previously paid for his meat and rabbits using his €73 social benefits cheque.
• A man who reported that Manicaro never charged anything extra for cashing his cheque apart from the payment for the goods.

Charges and Sentencing

In 2020, Anthony Manicaro and Mary Grace Manicaro were charged with money laundering and running an unlicensed financial institution by illegally cashing customers’ social benefits cheques. Both vigorously denied the accusations but ultimately changed their pleas and registered guilty pleas in court last month.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech handed:

• Anthony Manicaro a two-year jail term suspended for four years.
• Mary Grace Manicaro a two-year suspended sentence for three years.

They were also fined a combined €35,000, with €32,000 seized for being the proceeds of their offence, and were ordered to pay the €9,000 court bill.

Procedural Error and Delay

However, in a surprising turn of events in 2022, a procedural error led to the criminal charges being restarted since they were not authorized by the Attorney General’s office beforehand. This resulted in the proceedings having to start from scratch.

Prosecution and Defense

The case was prosecuted for the police by Assistant Commissioner Oriana Spiteri, Keith Mallan, and Danilo Francalanza, with Andrea Zammit serving as legal counsel for the Attorney General. Franco Debono, Adreana Zammit, and Francesca Zarb served as defence counsel for the accused.

Shop Closure

The butcher’s shop remains closed as the investigation and related legal proceedings continue.