Malta pensioners win €19.3 million in landmark savings scam ruling: ‘It’s our dignity back’

Pensioners awarded compensation over savings plan promises
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Floriana’s law courts echoed with quiet cheers yesterday as 127 Maltese pensioners – many clutching rosaries and grandchildren’s hands – finally heard the words they had waited eight years for: “You are entitled to full restitution, plus moral damages.” The landmark judgment closes a painful chapter that began in 2015 when a now-defunct investment firm, Mediterranean Heritage Savings Ltd, lured elderly clients with glossy brochures promising “8 % annual return, guaranteed by Maltese tradition”.

The scheme preyed on a uniquely Maltese instinct: the urge to salt away liri for the family tombstone, the festa feast, and the dowry. Flyers were handed out after Sunday Mass in parishes from Bormla to Mellieħa, and free pastizzi were served in the firm’s Valletta office overlooking the Grand Harbour. “They spoke our language – literally and emotionally,” recalled 82-year-old Maria Pace from Żabbar, who invested €35,000 intended for her twin grand-daughters’ university fees. “The salesman mentioned my husband’s regatta medals, asked about my St Peter’s feast band, and said the fund would keep Maltese money on the island.”

Instead, the money travelled. Court documents show €14 million was funnelled to a Dubai-based holding company, leaving behind empty desks and an A4 sheet taped to the door blaming “global market volatility”. Victims – most aged 65 to 88 – found themselves cancelling Mediterranean cruises, returning gold jewellery for pawn, and in one case, postponing cancer treatment. The phrase “ma nħallu lil ħaddaħ wara” (we leave no one behind) became bitterly ironic.

Yesterday’s judgment, delivered by Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon, orders the firm’s liquidators to pay €19.3 million in compensation plus 5 % annual interest. Crucially, the court accepted the argument that Mediterranean Heritage exploited “cultural fiduciary duty”, a concept rooted in Maltese civil code that recognises moral obligations arising from community trust. The precedent may ripple across future financial-mis-selling cases on the island.

Outside the courthouse, the mood was part-victory, part-vigil. A brass band from the Society of St Michael appeared unannounced, striking up the hymn “Ħares Mulej” (Watch Over Us). Elderly men removed flat caps; women dabbed tears. “This isn’t just money – it’s dignity,” said Carmel Briffa, 79, who spent 40 years painting ships in the dockyard. “I can face my neighbours again.” His wife, Pauline, added: “We won’t have to choose between heating and hobs.”

The ruling also exposes gaps in Malta’s financial supervision. The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) had flagged irregularities in 2016 yet failed to revoke the firm’s licence until 2019. In response, junior minister for financial services Clayton Bartolo announced a €2 million public-awareness campaign, featuring TV spots during festa season and parish-hall seminars led by retired Central Bank officials. “We must restore the bond between our institutions and our elders,” Bartolo said, speaking in Maltese, English, and – pointedly – Italian, the mother tongue of many victims.

Local banks are moving too. Bank of Valletta has unveiled a “Silver Shield” account offering 3 % interest and free legal advice for anyone over 60, while APS Bank is piloting a “family council” service where children and grandchildren sit in on investment discussions. The Archbishop’s Curia has weighed in, urging priests to report suspicious schemes announced after Mass. “Greed dressed as tradition is still greed,” declared Bishop Anton Teuma during a homily at St John’s Co-Cathedral.

For the pensioners, the first cheques are expected within six months. Plans are already afoot: a group trip to Lourdes, new lace for village church altars, and, for Maria Pace, the long-delayed promise of a University of Malta dormitory room for her grand-daughters. “We learnt the hard way,” she said, waving a court paper like a festa banner. “But maybe our story will spare the next generation.”

As the sun set behind the courthouse’s honey-coloured limestone, the band struck up a final march. Traffic stopped; tourists filmed on phones. In that moment, the line between courtroom and village square blurred – a reminder that in Malta, justice is not just a legal outcome; it is a community ritual, stitched into the same fabric as the festa fireworks and the Sunday roast.