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maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 14 NOVEMBER 2018 3 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Scicluna gained stature as the Vatican's top prosecutor on sex abuse and last sum- mer was appointed by the Pope to investi- gate allegations of abuse in Chile. Scicluna's report on the Catholic Church's handling of abuse cases in the South American coun- try is credited for changing the Pope's mind on action against Chilean bishops. Succession planning The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is currently led by the prefect Cardi- nal Luis Francisco Ladaria, a 74-year-old Jesuit. However, according to Canon Law, La- daria would have to offer his resignation next year, upon reaching 75. The current secretary of the congregation is 53-year-old Giacomo Morandi, which puts him in pole position to replace Ladaria. However, a Vatican source told Malta- Today that Scicluna's appointment as ad- junct secretary puts him in the running to replace Ladaria if and when the Pope ac- cepts the resignation. "Pope Francis has a lot of respect for Scicluna and this new appointment could be a sign of succession planning for the Vatican's most important congregation. If Scicluna is eventually appointed prefect, he would automatically become a cardinal and that will give him a 20-year presence in the college of cardinals that elects the pontiff," the source said. Only recently, Scicluna was touted by John Allen, an authoritative writer on Vat- ican affairs, as a possible successor for the Pope. In a statement the Maltese Curia said that in his new role, Scicluna would have to travel to Rome more frequently and in his absence Auxiliary Bishop Joe Galea Curmi would take over. 'Scicluna – possible successor for the Pope' YANNICK PACE ONE of the directors of the Maltese in- vestment group that holds an interest in the Electrogas consortium that runs Malta's LNG power plant, has denied any knowledge of the Dubai company 17 Black. Mark Gasan, CEO of the Gasan Group, denied knowing of the com- pany whose owner was reported to be Tumas Group CEO Yorgen Fenech, with whom Gasan holds an interest in GEM Holdings, a shareholder in Elec- trogas. "I cannot see the link between 17 Black and Electrogas," Gasan told Mal- taToday. Gasan sits on the board of directors of GEM Holdings alongside Tumas CEO Yorgen Fenech, who has been named as the owner of the Dubai-registered company 17 Black. Fenech is also a di- rector of Electrogas Malta. Last Friday, a joint investigation by Reuters and the Times of Malta named Fenech as the owner of the Dubai- registered company 17 Black, which was identified as a "target client" of the Panama offshore company opened by the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri and tourism minister Kon- rad Mizzi. Contacted by MaltaToday, Gasan insisted that he had no idea about 17 Black and had never heard of it before it was mentioned in the media. Asked whether he was concerned by the Times' story and any effect it could have on Electrogas, Gasan said he could not see the connection with Electrogas. "There is no relation whatsoever be- tween Electrogas and 17 Black". 17 Black's existence was first revealed by Daphne Caruana Galizia in a cryptic post back in February 2017, and is now known to have received a single pay- ment of €161,000 from the local agent for the tanker supplying LNG to the power station, as well as two separate payments amounting to €1.1 million from an Azeri security guard through another offshore company. Asked whether he had asked Fenech for an explanation since the story was published, Gasan told this newspaper that such questions should be directed to Fenech. GEM Holdings Limited – one of the three shareholders of the Electrogas – is the Maltese arm of the consortium. The owners of GEM Holdings Lim- ited are Gasan Enterprises Limited (a Gasan Group company), Tumas Ener- gy Limited (a Tumas Group company), and CP Holdings Limited, a company owned by siblings Paul Apap Bologna and Christina Meli Bugeja. A minor shareholding is also held by New Energy Supply Limited, which is wholly-owned by Fenech. Gasan Group CEO had 'no idea' about 17 Black

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