Cap. 621 Art. 48Procedure. 

(1) The Government may commence an action under this

Part by filing an application for Confiscation in the Civil Court (Asset

Recovery Section):

(a) at the time it files its application, the Government must provide notice thereof to any person who appears to have an ownership interest in the property subject to confiscation. Where such parties are known and are present in Malta, the Court shall order that they be served with the said notice by an officer of the court;

(b) if the Government is unable to obtain a valid address for a person entitled to notice under paragraph (a), it must provide notice by publication in the Gazette and in two (2) daily newspapers or on the internet in such manner as the Court may direct.

(2) A party contesting the confiscation of the property ("the intervener") must file a reply setting forth his ownership interest in the property and the time and manner in which he acquired such interest. The reply must be filed within thirty (30) days of the date when the Government served or published notice of the application for confiscation or such other time as the Court may direct.

(3) At any time before or after the filing of an application for confiscation, the Government may seek to seize or freeze property subject to confiscation pursuant to article 36 which shall apply mutatis to this Part. mutandis

(4) (a) If the Government contests the reply of any intervener for failure to establish an ownership interest in the property, prior to any other matter, the Court shall first determine whether the intervener has established his ownership interest.

(b) Notwithstanding any title to the property, the Court shall not be satisfied that the intervener has an ownership interest in the property if it finds that the intervener is a nominee who did not exercise effective dominion and control over the property, or otherwise did not prove rights of ownership consistent with real ownership.

(5) (a) If no one files a valid claim to the property in the form of a reply to the application, the Court must enter a Confiscation Order upon finding that the Government complied with the procedure for providing notice to potential claimants.

(b) Otherwise, if a valid claim is filed, the Court shall issue a Confiscation Order if it determines that:

(i) on a balance of probabilities, the Government has established that the property is subject to confiscation; and

(ii) no intervener has established an affirmative defence in terms of article 49.

(c) In determining whether the Government has met its burden of establishing that the property is subject to confiscation, the Court may consider any evidence relevant to that determination submitted by the intervener. The Court shall postpone determining whether the intervener is able to establish an affirmative defence in terms of article 49 until it has found that the property is subject to confiscation.

(6) To the extent that the property subject to confiscation includes property other than the proceeds of crime, the Court must ensure that the confiscation of such property is not grossly disproportional to the gravity of the offence or offences giving rise to the confiscation order.