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Maltatoday 22 October 2017

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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2017 Opinion 26 The long-suffering creditors of the former Priceclub supermarket chain may have secured an important victory last week when a Court found three directors re- sponsible for over Lm8 million in debts. But the long hunt for the money starts now, and it is a process that can be ex- pected to take years – with an uncertain outcome to boot. Liquidator Andrew Borg Cardona will now take charge of the exercise to locate all assets which can be liquidated and par- titioned to the numerous creditors which were left hanging when the Priceclub chain went belly-up. Last week, Mr Justice Tonio Mallia, sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court, concluded that Victor Zammit, Christo- pher Gauci and Wallace Fino had com- mitted fraudulent and wrongful trading in connection with Priceclub Operators (PCO) and the company's creditors and declared the three directors to be person- ally and unlimitedly responsible for the debts incurred PCO. Next week, Borg Cardona will call a meeting for Priceclub creditors. "My job now is to get the money," Borg Cardona simply stated. "I will be examin- ing where any residual value is left from properties forming part of Priceclub Hold- ings (PCH) and locate any other assets." It will also mean tracing assets and other monies right down to the directors' personal property and assets and related companies' assets – an exercise which itself is expected to involve a great deal of investigation to locate assets which might have already been moved, possibly beyond Maltese shores. "The next step is to take legal advice on what I can do at law," Borg Cardona says. "In the meantime, researches on property movements, with the companies registry over movements on shares, and if need be seizures of personal property are all possible ways of how these assets will be monitored." But the process can also take even longer than expected, where an appeal on the judgement might possibly take a further two years to conclude. Last week, the Court declared that fraudulent trading existed when during the six years the Priceclub group of com- panies had operated, the directors-share- holders ignored creditors' interests and looked after their own personal interests. PCO, which operated the supermarkets, had no assets, while it paid off debts to third parties incurred by PCH and other subsidiaries while accumulating its own debts from suppliers. PCH owned all the group's assets, while PCO had incurred debts with trade sup- pliers when it had no means to repay these debts. Instead the directors made use of PCO's creditors to finance the group's expansion. Pricelub took over the operation of Priceclub supermarket from Frans Gauci (Christopher Gauci's father), starting off with a working capital deficit of Lm1.2 million and other rent it had pay for its other supermarkets. In his harsh judgement, Mr Justice Mallia said that from the very start the directors knew the business had to be restructured but they had taken no steps to do so. They used money from PCO to pay off Lm450,000 over the purchase of the Day To Day supermarket which should have been paid back to PCO. Instead, part of the sum was paid Zammit's company Biochemicals International as payment for products that would, in the future, be sold to PCO. Another part of this sum was set off against debts owed by Day To Day supermarkets to Taormina Holdings Ltd, a company owned by Gauci's parents. PCO also started operations with a deficit and without a capital base, while directors ignored the creditors' plight as they proceeded with an unsustainable expansion of the supermarket chain. In a separate judgment, Tonio Mallia however declined to find Biochemicals International Ltd and 2000 Holdings Ltd, shareholders in PCO, unlimitedly liable in this case. Andrew Borg Cardona, liquidator of PCO, claimed all defendant companies had abused of the privilege of limited liability, and that they were, therefore, unlimitedly liable towards PCO. All defendant companies, save for Biochemicals International and 2000 Holdings were the owners of the various properties and assets forming part, of the Priceclub group. The two companies belonged to Victor Zammit's family but no proof of their abuse of responsibility had been shown. Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. News – 24 October 2007 The day that changed Malta Few crimes in Europe have caused global outrage as the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. If alive today, Daphne would still be seek- ing the truth, sitting in front of her computer and penning her blog. The silencing of Daphne through murder represents a dark and bleak day for democ- racy but most of all for freedom of expression globally. This week the United States Department of State adding their voice condemning the "ap- palling violence that took place against Daphne in the strongest terms" calling it a "cowardly attack " against a reporter who was dedicated to fighting cor- ruption. Daphne's death leaves a void in Maltese journalism and the horror of circumstances surrounding her murder creates fear for those who speak out. Daphne had spoken previously about the dangers she was facing with some of the investigations she was dealing with. Only two weeks earlier, she had reported threats against her to the police. Her fearless blog Running Commentary con- tinually targeted many power- ful figures, including money- laundering banks, mafia-linked gambling companies and politi- cians and businessmen allegedly receiving covert payments. No one was exempt from Daphne's digital cross-exam- ination, and her language was always searing. Whatever one thinks of her style, it worked with over 400,000 readers on a good day. Daphne's ability to trigger debate was a testament to the success of her report- ing and her dedication to the pursuit of truth. Those searing words spared no punches and sometimes struck at the heart of its intenders. At last count, Malta's online court registry listed 42 pending libel cases against the promi- nent journalist. This, many consider, is itself an attack on freedom of the Press. The most recently filed were a string of cases filed by newly elected opposition Nationalist Party (PN) leader Adrian Delia, whom Daphne had linked to a prosti- tution racket in Soho, insisting that Delia had held the pro- ceeds of a number of West Lon- don brothels in a bank account bearing his name. Delia insists it was a client account and that he had resigned from the com- pany owning the property after becoming aware of its use. In her final blog entry on her website, Daphne described crooks being everywhere now, before signing off with a foreboding "This situation is desperate." Investigative storytelling should never be a life or death affair. True, you never know the enemies you will make and how far those enemies will go to si- lence you but nonetheless, pas- sion and a sense of nationalism are the key motivators which sprang journalists like Daphne to the top of their game. Malta has changed, but the brutal murder of Daphne casts an unwelcome light on Malta that many in Europe thought of as a holiday destination. Justice in this case is not being served by calling names and making baseless allegations but it must be stated, whatever you may think of the shortcomings of the Island's political class, they are not in the habit of hiring hitmen to silence opponents. The rule of law is under strain. There have been several other car bombings in recent months, none of the car bombings in- cluding three in 2016 alone has been solved, leaving many to wonder whether the police will ever get to the bottom of things. The authorities on this occa- sion need to prove now that this kind of transgression will not be allowed to pass with impunity. When a life is lost in the pursuit of truth, we all have a responsi- bility to take action. Patrick J. O Brien Sliema Long hunt for Priceclub Lm8m debts starts

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