Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1198140
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 JANUARY 2020 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "For the past 20 years, it has built and expanded its business and to date has an impeccable reputation," Izzo said. A judicial protest is not an action for libel and has no ex- ecutive power, serving only as a warning that the person will seek proceedings for damages if the situation persists. No evi- dence is heard unless the judi- cial protest is followed up by a court case. Izzo had threatened to file li- bel proceedings against Azzo- pardi over his claims. The document filed today states that Azzopardi had claimed on Facebook that the company was not going to be in a position to satisfy its obli- gations to its investors and was being used for the purpose of money laundering. The company strongly rebut- ted the "insinuations and sensa- tional and malicious allegations that are evidently made for partisan reasons and intended solely to defame and damage the reputation of the company and its business." Azzopardi had "made a ma- nipulated interpretation of the financial report he quoted, by presenting selected figures and not giving a clear picture of the group's financial position." Izzo said that the PN MP did not say that the company had been operating for the past 20 years. She said that over the years the company had built a strong brand through "meas- ured steps, hard work and abso- lute diligence that allowed it to gradually expand and diversify its business". "Every commercial decision taken by the plaintiff was al- ways legal, legitimate, accord- ing to its financial obligation and in the best interests of its investors, as can be easily veri- fied," she added. The protest argued that Azzo- pardi "or the third parties who are directing him" had an inter- est in giving an interpretation that was manipulated for their "malign intentions." Izzo said she was in a position to disprove the allegations, and held Azzopardi responsible for any damages resulting from his actions. The judicial protest demand- ed Azzopardi take down the of- fending social media comment and make a public apology as well as a retraction of his alle- gations. Earlier In a Facebook post earlier in the day, Izzo said Jason Azzo- pardi will have to answer for his lies in court. "I shall be filing a libel case to safeguard the ster- ling reputation of my company, our employees, and their fami- lies," she wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. Azzopardi had claimed on his Facebook page that if the Maltese Economic Crimes Unit were a functioning department, it would investigate "the bosom friends of the Muscat couple and the so called DIZZ Group." Azzopardi quoted a 2014 to 2017 financial report of the company, saying that there were discrepancies in the fig- ures listed. "Turnover of fash- ionwear has increased from €5.1 million in 2014, to €15 million in 2017, an increase of 192%. This increase has been achieved with the increase in the number of retail outlets, which numbered 33 in 2017," he wrote. Azzopardi said, after calcu- lations, that the financial re- port meant that the average turnover per outlet in 2017 was €492,750, resulting in an aver- age profit before tax of €14,932 per outlet. "Would you open 33 outlets for a mere €14,932 profit pre tax (circa €10,000 net profits) per outlet? Furthermore: the DIZZ Group bonds are amongst the worst on the market," he wrote. He concluded that this could only mean that DIZZ group probably had not met debt ob- ligations and that "money laun- dering is facilitated a lot by hav- ing a big number of outlets." Izzo's response on Facebook came two hours later as she claimed a libel lawsuit would be filed. "I am very sorry to break it to Dr Azzopardi that the only se- cret behind our 20 years of suc- cess is hard work. I am holding Jazon Azzopardi personally responsible for any damages that his lies have procured," she wrote. PN MP Jason Azzopardi implies fashion retail group registers low profits because of money laundering Jason Azzopardi MATTHEW AGIUS MV Lifeline captain Claus Peter Reisch is a free man after the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned his conviction for ship registration ir- regularities. In May last year, Captain Claus Peter Reisch had been found guilty of not having his ship's reg- istration in order and was fined €10,000, with the court refusing the prosecution's request to con- fiscate the vessel. Reisch had been in charge of the vessel when it rescued 234 stranded migrants at sea in 2018. The rescue had caused an inter- national dispute, with the Lifeline eventually being allowed to dock in Valletta, after which the res- cued migrants were distributed amongst a number of EU coun- tries. Reisch had been charged with entering Maltese territorial wa- ters without the necessary regis- tration or licence. Reisch's lawyers, Cedric Mifsud and Neil Falzon had appealed the fine on a number of grounds, ar- guing that the ship had been cor- rectly registered under the Dutch flag and its ownership was indi- cated in that register. In a judgment handed down this morning, Madame Justice Con- suelo Scerri Herrera overturned the sentence, saying the man had lacked the specific intent neces- sary to find guilt on the charge. Lawyers Cedric Mifsud, Neil Falzon and Gianluca Cappitta were legal counsel to Reisch. MV Lifeline captain cleared of ship registration offences MV Lifeline captain Claus Peter Reisch is a free man after the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned his conviction for ship registration irregularities Captain Claus Peter Reisch