Auditor Chris Baldacchino has been remanded in custody after being arraigned over charges of money laundering linked to a multi-million euro fuel smuggling racket. Baldacchino entered a plea of not guilty on Monday morning to charges of being the brains behind the laundering of illicit funds for an organised criminal group allegedly involved in fuel smuggling. Following a break in proceedings, Magistrate Ian Farrugia said he had taken into consideration the seriousness of the charges and the fact that a number of witnesses still had to testify. He denied bail. Last year Chris Baldacchino & Associates was fined some €58,000 for lax anti-money laundering controls that could have “possibly led the firm to be used and abused by money-launderers to bypass checks that would otherwise have been carried out”. The financial advisory firm is alleged to have been involved in a €30 million fuel smuggling ring out of Libya allegedly operated by former international footballer Darren Debono and his associates Gordon Debono (no relation). The racket is believed to have links to Libyan militia groups and the Italian mafia. The two Debonos have been in preventative arrest ever since...