Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1238298
4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 APRIL 2020 NEWS MASSIMO COSTA LOCAL businesses hit by COV- ID-19's economic impact will be able to access loans of between €4 million to €8 million under a new financing scheme launched by BOV and the Malta Develop- ment Bank (MDB). The scheme, BOV-MDB COV- ID Assist (BMCA), is aimed at assisting local businesses fac- ing unprecedented disruptions bought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. SMEs will be able to apply for a maximum loan amount of €4 million, while large enterprises can apply for up to €8 million, subject to bank's approval. Repayment terms can range be- tween 18 and 72 months, with an inclusive moratorium period of six-months that can be extended to twelve months depending on particular circumstances of the business. The scheme will enable com- panies to meet working capital requirements, aiding them with running costs such as employees' wages and salaries, bills, pending invoices, acquisition of stock, maintenance costs and expenses that are critical for the smooth running of the business, BOV said in a statement on Tuesday. "Once again, Bank of Vallet- ta will be supporting the local business community by provid- ing much needed liquidity and working capital facilities in these challenging times," BOV Chief Credit Officer Albert Frendo said. "Right at the start of this pan- demic, we launched a number of initiatives to assist our busi- ness customers. Now, through our long-term collaboration with MDB, we shall be offering further credit supportive measures with attractive, all-inclusive interest rates starting from a fixed rate of 2.5% for the first two years, at no additional fees and charges. We are currently discussing with MDB how business customers will be refunded with the two- year interest rebate, recently an- nounced by the government." Frendo said that BOV was de- termined to ensure that SMEs - the the drivers of Malta's econo- my - would benefit from a highly attractive proposition during this difficult period. "BOV-MDB COVID Assist will provide the much needed liquidity injection to our local businesses and econ- omy", Frendo added. MDB chairman Josef Bonni- ci highlighted that the govern- ment had allocated a €350 mil- ion fund to the MDB to set up a COVID-19 guarantee scheme to guarantee loans granted by commercial banks to businesses facing unprecedented cash flow disruptions. "Bank of Valletta is the first bank which met MDB's criteria and is now accredited to assist its customers under the scheme", Bonnici said, "The BOV-MDB COVID Assist will provide the much-needed breathing space for businesses by ensuring that credit keeps flowing to where it is needed. These funds will be injected directly into businesses of any size or sector which will help the Maltese economy to maintain employment and be in a position to bounce back and resume the pace of economic activity at the earliest opportu- nity." The scheme will be available until 31 December 2020. Busi- nesses seeking to avail them- selves of the BOV-MDB COVID Assist are to send an email to smefinance@bov.com, or if they are BOV customers to their Re- lationship Manager, Business Centre or Corporate Centre. Further information on how to apply can be found on https:// w w w . b o v . c o m / c o n t e n t / b o v - mdb-covid19-assist. Financing scheme for businesses hit by COVID-19 launched BOV and the Malta Development Bank have launched a financing scheme for businesses CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The evidence, in the form of fresh information, was present- ed in the acts of the inquiry on Tuesday by NGO Repubblika that had filed police charges against the soldiers. The charges were based on claims first made by rescue as- sistance NGO Alarm Phone that Maltese soldiers had tried to sabotage a migrant dinghy at sea. The migrants were eventually rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta and brought to Malta. Sources close to the inquiry told MaltaToday that the NGO was tipped off with fresh infor- mation that could shed a differ- ent light on what actually hap- pened on the high seas. "There is nothing in the infor- mation that the magisterial in- quiry would not have discovered but it appears that somebody wanted to try and save Repubbli- ka's face," the sources said. The evidence surrounds the claim that a soldier cut off the migrant dinghy's outboard en- gine cable in a bid to sabotage the boat. It is understood that the cable in question was the normal safe- ty device, known as a kill switch, which de-activates the engine in case of emergency. This is a normal procedure in rescue operations to avoid any harm to the people on the boat and the rescuers. Contacted by MaltaToday, lawyer Herman Mula, who was contracted by the General Workers Union to represent the soldiers, said he was more than convinced that his clients acted within normal protocols and not as has been alleged. Mula would not comment any further, insisting that he was certain the inquiry would estab- lish all the facts. The officers manning the P52 patrol boat were questioned yes- terday and more army officials testified today in front of Magis- trate Joe Mifsud, who is leading the criminal inquiry. The magistrate is also probing allegations against the Prime Minister and the army com- mander that Malta reneged on its duty to rescue migrant boats that were in its search and res- cue area – the reference here is to a different case involving a boat that was eventually rescued by a commercial vessel and on which 12 people died. On 9 April, Alarm Phone al- leged that migrants in distress had called them with claims that soldiers from the patrol boat P52 had "cut the cable of the motor" and left them to die in the water. The NGO shared its story with The Guardian and the New York Times that ran with the stories blaming the Maltese military for s a b - otaging the migrant boat. However, former military per- sonnel with knowledge of rescue operations have told MaltaTo- day the story of sabotage was "unbelievable" given the mere fact that the same migrants were eventually rescued by the AFM and brought to Malta. The 66 migrants rescued on that day were the last group to be brought ashore before Malta declared its ports closed because of the COVID-19 emergency. Alarm Phone's tweet on 9 April when the claims of sabotage wer first made New evidence presented in P52 migrant death probe