Russian 'whistleblower' says life at risk in Malta

ATHENS: A Russian alleged whistleblower in a Maltese anti-corruption and murder scandal, who is fighting against rendition from Greece, on Tuesday said her life would be in danger if she was returned to Malta.
Maria Efimova, a 36-year-old ex-staffer at Pilatus Bank, said she would be willing to testify again on the alleged scandal involving her former employers if the case went to trial, although not in Malta.
"I am ready to testify, but not in Malta. If I go back, my life would be in great danger," she told a conference in Athens.
Efimova is widely believed to be a key source of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed by a car bomb last October as she lifted the lid on widespread corruption in her homeland.
After the killing, her sons called on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to resign, alleging he was overseeing a mafia state.
Efimova and her Greek lawyer on Tuesday said the handling of her original testimony by Maltese authorities suggested that Pilatus Bank was well connected.
Whereas Efimova said she had been assured of anonymity, her name was in Maltese newspapers the day after she spoke to a judge.
Pilatus Bank subsequently accused Efimova of embezzling 5,000 euros (RM 23,018.68), a sum so trivial that it should not normally merit an EU rendition warrant, said her lawyer Alexandros Papastergiopoulos.
When Maltese police took her in for questioning, Efimova said they tried to intimidate her.
"They said that I would receive a five-year sentence and that I would be killed in prison," the mother of two said.
"This is when I realised how powerful this bank is," she said.
In an unusual step, Maltese police also allowed Pilatus managers to be present during her interrogation, she said.
A council of Greek judges in April initially blocked Efimova's rendition to Malta, but a senior state prosecutor recently challenged the ruling, thereby sending the case to the Supreme Court.
A verdict is expected on June 14.
After initially fleeing to Crete, Efimova surrendered to police in Athens in March.
"I had no intention of hiding. I do not feel guilty," she said Tuesday.
She also denied claims by the Maltese government that she is a Russian spy. — AFP