LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A 68-year old Italian-American national was released from his arrest in Malta following accusations of $50 million fraud at the expense of the United States Navy. The Italian-American national was arrested last Monday following a join operation by the Maltese and American authories. He arrived in Malta last Sunday and was staying in St. Julian’s.

The Office of the Attorney General filed a legal request for the re-arrest of Frank Salvatore Rafaraci who is wanted by the District Court of Columbia in the US.

The man had been suspected as a participant in a scheme that used falsified invoices and receipts for equipment and supplies provided to the US Navy. It is also alleged that he paid tens of thousands of euro to bribe US government officials in exchange for sensitive information on future military Navy contracts. It is also believed that Rafaraci and his partners laundered the funds using shell companies, evading millions of dollars in US taxes.

The accusations include conspiracy to commit bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The court in Malta declared that Rafaracìs arrest had no basis according to law and ordered his release. However, the Office of the Attorney General said that he is effectively free to escape from Malta without having gone through a legal process to be extradited.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews