Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1181922
MATTHEW VELLA MALTA'S financial regulator has lost a bid to stop the shuttered Satabank from releasing funds from the bank account of an offshore company be- longing to 'Dirty Oil' suspect Gor- don Debono. Debono is facing criminal charges related to a €30 million oil-smug- gling ring in Catania, Sicily, together with conspirators Darren Debono, the former Malta footballer, and Libyan 'smuggling king' Fahmi Slim Bin Khalifa. Gordon Debono ran several com- panies involved in the trading of oil to various multinationals from his Portomaso office, where Satabank also had its headquarters. But apart from his Malta firm, Debono also has offshore companies with an account at Satabank, the monies of which have been frozen since the bank went under control- lership. Yet an attempt by the MFSA to stop the Satabank cash from being released to one of Debono's offshore companies – to repay a loan from another offshore company prob- ably owned by his own wife – was thrown out by a court of appeal. The decision concerns the powers of a first court in stopping Satabank from executing the withdrawal of OSC's deposits, over money laun- dering concerns. The Appeals Court believes there are no grounds to stop the withdrawal, because the money will still have to be scrutinised for money laundering purposes. At the heart of the matter is the MFSA's bid to stop Debono's com- pany Oil & Ship Consultancy (OSC) of Belize, from using money in Sa- tabank to pay back a €1.5 million from Dubai company Interna- tional Properties and Invest- ment Ltd (IPIL). As it turns out, IPIL's 'board of direc- tors' is represented by Gor- don Debono's wife Yvette. In July 2018 the two compa- nies went to a Cypriot court, which recognised the constitution of debt between OSC and IPIL, that reached a 'court settlement' for €1.5 million and 3.5% interest. The loan agreement was created just a month before Gordon Debono's arrest in Sicily in late October 2017. maltatoday 2 today SUNDAY • 3 NOVEMBER 2019 • ISSUE 1044 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY today today QALA DECISION YOUR FIRST READ AND CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT MT2 INSIDE maltatoday 2 INSIDE • LISTINGS • TV • LAW • CLASSIFIEDS Q and A Philippa Cassar This Week Artist John Paul Azzopardi Film Wounded THE company J Portelli Projects is re- nouncing a controversial permit awarded to it for a villa on pristine land in Qala. The company said owner Joseph Por- telli, who owns the land, was renouncing the permit "with immediate effect" but claimed the application had been singled out by the Planning Authority and the media "for some odd reason". Portelli (pictured) is the developer be- hind the Zaha Hadid-designed Mer- cury House 32-storey high-rise in Paceville. The decision to award the permit to redevelop a country- side ruin into a villa with swim- ming pool was carried by the vote of government-appointed members on the Planning Authority board despite the planning directorate's recommendation for refusal. The company insisted it had carried out extensive research which confirmed that the property was used as a residence in the past – a precondition under the 2014 rural policy guidelines that allows ru- ins outside development zones to be turned into habitations. Joseph Portelli drops Gozo permit in face of outrage MFSA loses bid to prevent Satabank release to 'Dirty Oil' suspect €1.95 Sicily in late October 2017. PAGE 4 ins outside development zones to be turned into PAGE 3 "I am Maltese and I married a black man... I fear for his life" PAGES 10-11 MARIA PISANI Migration: Desperately in need of a long-term plan INTERVIEW 16-17 Old guard's disgust on Qala betrays unease over Labour pact with big business PAGE 3 mt survey Church's apology for 1960s interdiction of Labour voters and politicians PAGE 12 Muscat slips, Delia gains as migrant riot dampens budget impact PGS 14-15