Man accused of human trafficking was GWU Youth president

Andre D’Amato, accused of human trafficking and money laundering last month, was an employee who worked at a government agency (MITA) and the president of GWU Youth at the time the alleged crimes were committed.

Last month, D’Amato, a 37-year-old ICT professional and company director from Mosta, was arraigned in court on multiple charges, including human trafficking, money laundering, computer misuse, forgery of official documents, using forged documents, fraud, and making false declarations.

At the time of the alleged crimes, between 2018 and early May this year, D’Amato worked at a government agency (MITA).  Between 2016 and 2019, D’Amato was also the president of the GWU Youth.

Despite the years that passed while the alleged crimes were committed, he was appointed non-resident ambassador to Cuba last year.

When the foreign ministry was informed of his arraignment, it terminated his contract and informed the Cuban embassy in Rome.

“The ministry was informed by the competent authorities that this person was involved in a criminal case, and on the same day, internal instructions were issued to terminate his contract with immediate effect,” a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry told The Times of Malta.

D’Amato has denied the charges. He was initially denied bail and remanded in custody but was later released.

The case will now be referred to the court registrar and assigned to the magistrates presiding over money laundering cases.