Court acquits Austrian couple accused of disobeying order

The Banjul Magistrates’ Court has upheld a no-case submission and acquitted Austrian nationals Manuel Di Stofleth Mitterer and Angelika Mitterer of a charge of disobedience to a lawful order.

The two had been charged under Section 109 of the Criminal Offences Act 2025 after police alleged they failed to comply with a court order issued on July 21, 2025, directing them to open or provide the password to a laptop being investigated in connection with alleged fraud and theft involving crypto currency transactions and to provide crypto currency account and wallet details.

In his ruling, the magistrate found that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case requiring the accused persons to enter a defence.

The court noted that evidence from the prosecution’s own witnesses showed that the accused persons had opened the laptop and provided the password after consulting their lawyers. The witnesses also acknowledged that the accused had provided a device described as a “box” and a stick used to access the cryptocurrency account.

During cross-examination, police witnesses admitted that the laptop was successfully opened. One witness further confirmed that the accused had accessed the cryptocurrency account while in police custody using the device provided.

The magistrate held that the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence to show that the accused had disobeyed the court’s order. He observed that while investigators were unable to access the crypto currency account in the manner they intended, the evidence indicated that the accused had complied with the specific requirements contained in the court order.

The court also questioned why investigators were unable to access the crypto currency account after receiving the laptop password, noting that no evidence was provided to clarify that issue.

Consequently, the court resolved the key issues in favour of the accused persons and ruled that the prosecution’s case had failed. The no-case submission was upheld, and both Manuel Di Stofleth Mitterer and Angelika Mitterer were discharged and acquitted.