The Court of Criminal Appeal has rejected a request by the Attorney General to introduce fresh evidence in the extradition appeal of Daniel Meli, a 28-year-old man from Żabbar wanted by US authorities over alleged cybercrime offences.
In its decision, the court said it could not understand how US authorities were still compiling evidence more than a year after issuing an indictment, and months into Malta’s extradition proceedings.
Meli is accused by the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia of distributing a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) on the dark web between 2012 and 2022. A federal indictment was issued against him in December 2023.
The US requested Meli’s extradition in January, with proceedings beginning in February. However, the Court of Committal earlier this month ruled against the extradition, saying the prosecution had failed to present a prima facie case.
The Attorney General is appealing that decision, and in a recent hearing asked for proceedings to be adjourned to allow it to present new documents currently being finalised by US authorities. These documents, it said, would be confirmed on oath before a US judge and sent to Malta via diplomatic channels.
But the Court of Criminal Appeal refused the request, noting that the AG did not ask for the previous court’s decree to be revoked. It also highlighted that reintroducing documents previously deemed inadmissible would only lead to unnecessary delays.
The court also questioned why the US was still gathering evidence at this stage, months after proceedings began. It made clear that an appeal is not an opportunity to fill evidentiary gaps left during the initial proceedings.
Final submissions in the appeal will be made in July, with Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti presiding.
The Attorney General was represented by lawyers Daphne Baldacchino and Maria Zerafa Le Gros. Meli is being defended by lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Franco Debono, and Lennox Vella.