Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1540988
THE brothers of the man at the heart of the Enemalta oil scandal are insisting they are victims of their sibling's corrupt behaviour and not accomplices. In final court submissions this month, Antonio Farrugia, Gae- tano Farrugia, Emanuel Farru- gia and Saviour Farrugia denied any knowledge of their brother George Farrugia's illicit actions. The brothers were charged in 2014 and accused of being ac- complices to George Farrugia, who was given a presidential par- don in February 2013 to tell all. It was MaltaToday that broke the scandal in January 2013, showing how kickbacks were be- ing paid on oil and fuel purchases by Enemalta, a state-owned com- pany. The Enemalta oil scandal, as it became known, rocked the island right at the start of the 2013 elec- tion campaign. YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT SUNDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2025 • ISSUE 1357 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Hotel expansion maltatoday Chewed and spit out Opinion An appeals system that is driving non-EU nationals to desperation NICOLE MEILAK nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt CONTINUES PAGES 6-7 Brothers of pardoned trader say they are victims not accomplices €2.20 Plans Plans submitted for submitted for significant expansion significant expansion of the Paradise Bay of the Paradise Bay Hotel Hotel PAGE 3 A caged bird on a trapping site in Marsaskala, used to attract other finches to be caught in trap nets. The European Commission has confirmed to BirdLife that Malta's derogation for finch trapping, disguised as a scientific exercise, remains in breach of EU law despite claims to the contrary by Hunting Minister Clint Camilleri. ENEMALTA OIL SCANDAL: KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt SEE PAGE 2 FINANCE Minister Clyde Caruana has warned that Mal- ta risks reaching saturation point in tourism, saying the country must focus on attract- ing higher-spending visitors. Speaking to MaltaToday in the wake of Budget 2026, Caruana said the government and industry alike need to rec- ognise that there are limits to how many tourists the island can sustainably host. "The sector itself will also have limitations to growth. If this country ends up attract- ing four million tourists, will it really afford to bring in more people? If the numbers con- tinue to rise, the quality of a holiday in Malta will surely deteriorate," he said in an in- terview being published today. Finance minister warns of saturation point in tourism CONTINUES PAGE 4 Tidbits of curious revenue and expenditure PAGE 9 Saviour Balzan reminisces on the oil scandal he broke 12 years ago SEE MT2 PAGE 11 James Debono on how Labour squared the circle PAGES 12-13 JP Fabri unravels the paradox of lower taxes but higher revenue PAGE 15