The ongoing criminal proceedings linked to Progress Press in Malta, publishers of the Times of Malta have taken yet another troubling turn, raising serious questions about accountability, international enforcement, and the credibility of court-appointed expertise.
At the centre of the controversy remains Jeremy Harbinson, whose continued failure to appear before the Maltese courts is becoming increasingly disgraceful. His absence is not an isolated incident. It mirrors a broader pattern already seen in other high-profile Maltese cases, including the Hospitals and the Electrogas proceedings, where he failed to show up and ascertained that he has no intention to show up.
Jeremy Harbinson
Police confirmation: no trace whatsoever
In the latest sitting, Superintendent Mario Cuschieri delivered stark testimony. He confirmed that both Maltese police and Interpol have been unable to locate Harbinson.
In replying to Professor Stefano Filletti, the Police Superintendent stated that Interpol has issued what is known as a blue diffusion—a request circulated internationally to collect additional information about a person’s identity, location, or activities. This is not a minor procedural step; it reflects a coordinated international effort to trace an individual considered relevant to ongoing proceedings. Yet despite this, there have been no results.
Authorities have also escalated the search through the Schengen Information System (SIS), a powerful EU-wide database used for security and border management cooperation. Again, the outcome is the same: no hits, no sightings, no trace.
Even broader checks yield nothing
The situation becomes even more extraordinary when considering the breadth of the search.
Under questioning by Defense Counsel Professor Stefano Filletti and Dr Kathleen Grima, Superintendent Cuschieri confirmed that checks extended across both EU and international systems. Defence counsel pressed further, specifically asking whether this absence of results also applied to Ireland, where Harbinson is known to have connections.
The answer was unequivocal…..no hits whatsoever.
Legal scrutiny intensifies in court
The proceedings have also drawn the attention of leading defense practitioners, including Prof Stefano Filetti and Dr Kathleen Grima, who have been actively engaged in dissecting the implications of this unprecedented situation in the Progress Press case.
Their interventions underscore the growing concern within the legal community: this is no longer a simple issue of a missing witness, but a structural failure affecting the integrity of the proceedings themselves.
When an expert repeatedly fails to appear, despite international tracing efforts, the legal process risks grinding to a halt.
Jeremy Harbinson
A pattern of avoidance?
This raises a deeply uncomfortable question: how does an expert repeatedly entrusted with sensitive, high-stakes judicial assignments simply vanish from all detectable systems?
Harbinson’s role is not peripheral. As a forensic expert, his input can significantly influence the direction and outcome of complex financial and corporate crime cases. His absence therefore does not just inconvenience proceedings—it actively undermines them.
The repetition of this pattern across multiple major cases suggests something more than coincidence.
