Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1172208
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 SEPTEMBER 2019 NEWS FIRST FLYOVERS NOW OPEN from Marsa (Aldo Moro Road) to Luqa and Airport (Garibaldi Road) J U N C T I O N M A R S A P R O J E C T Upgrading the gateway to southern Malta #MarsaJunctionProject infrastructuremalta.com MINISTRY FOR TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE AND CAPITAL PROJECTS PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT FOR EUROPEAN FUNDS AND SOCIAL DIALOGUE Co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 At the meeting, the US assis- tant secretary was also said to have expressed American con- cern over Russia's role in the financing of Maltese operations involved in fuel smuggling, es- pecially over possible indica- tions that the fuel was being sold for an eventual destination to blacklisted Syrian forces, or to Khalifa Haftar's army. "Fuel smuggling was at the top of Billingslea's concerns. He even indicated that he would be visiting Hurd's bank," the source said, referring to the shallow offshore bank located to the east of Malta. The area – a veritable Wild West for transshipment on the high seas – is used for the trans- fers of oil products through an informal ship-to-ship network. According to Lloyds List, tank- ers have been tracked undertak- ing ship-to-ship transfers in wa- ters off Malta, before sailing on to Venezuela, the Latin Ameri- can country whose government is also actively supported by the Russians. Hurds Bank is outside territo- rial waters and not under the direct jurisdiction of Malta. Yet it is believed that it was on this very pretext that Malta was 'pushed' to make its first ever representations to the United Nations Security Coun- cil, for sanctions against Darren Debono and Gordon Debono. "There was active American encouragement for the sanc- tions," the same source said, "because UNSC sanctions pro- vide a solid basis for the board- ing of ships – but Russian op- position to the sanctions have only highlighted the concerns about these informal shipping networks and the role they play in the smuggling trade in the Mediterranean." The Americans are lawfully allowed to board Malta-regis- tered ships under the Prolifera- tion Security Initiative bilateral treaty, if authorised by the Mal- tese authorities. The only communication is- sued by the government fol- lowing the Billingslea meeting with Scicluna in late June was a mere two sentences about talks between the two sides on com- bating terrorist financing and financial crime. Sanctions designated against Darren and Gordon Debono (no relation to each other), who were arrested in September 2017 by Italian police and are now out on bail, were foiled by a last-minute suspension from the Russian government at the United Nations Security Coun- cil. The Maltese government has argued that the two men had "consistently attempted to un- dermine the peace, stability, and security of Libya" with their involvement in the oil smug- gling crime ring. Russia blocked the Maltese sanctions with a last-minute veto on a Security Council des- ignation. In August, Maltese foreign minister Carmelo Ab- ela met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Rus- sia has now sent Malta's sanc- tions monitoring committee a series of questions requesting clarifications on Malta's pro- posed sanctions against the Debonos. The oil smuggling suspects are accused of being at the centre of a €30 million fuel smuggling ring with Libya and Italian Ma- fia associates at its heart. The two men are already under a US sanctions list designated by the Office of Foreign Asset Control, a Treasury Department office. Darren Debono has also re- vealed having held meetings with a naval attaché from the United States embassy in Mal- ta, who asked him to offer up information on the smuggling trade in the Mediterranean, as a precondition to have the OFAC sanctions lifted. In court, Debono's lawyer also claimed the US embassy offi- cial requested information on Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat and his chief of staff Keith Schembri, in connection with the provision of fuel to Russian ships. "Do you remember those two Russian ships that wanted to dock in Malta and that Malta didn't allow to refuel? They told him to confirm whether the Prime Minister and the govern- ment took them outside territo- rial waters and whether he gave them fuel himself. They insisted on being given information and asked for information about the Prime Minister and Keith Schembri. He said, 'no because he is my Prime Minister and I am not a spy'," lawyer Victor Bugeja said. In an affidavit to a Maltese court, Debono said a US naval attaché requested that he re- veal influential drug trafficking syndicates, whom they sell their cargo to, how they paid their crews to transport drugs and other illicit cargo, as well as to identify businesses owned by such people like Paul Attard – a Maltese shipper wanted by Ital- ian police for extradition to face charges of drug trafficking. Debono's ADJ Trading, as well as his other companies and five fishing vessels, were hit by the OFAC blacklist in the wake of the arrests. The American chargé d'affaires in Malta, Mark Schap- iro, has been unequivocal about Russia's objection to the Malta sanctions. "These guys are known gang- sters and known smugglers. What just happened at the United Nations is that Russia made a decision to side with known gangsters and smugglers against Malta. That's not OK, that should not be acceptable and Malta has every right to be frustrated and disgusted by this," he said on TVM. Edward Scicluna and Marshall Billingslea "There was active American encouragement for the sanctions because they provide a solid basis for the boarding of ships"