Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1262267
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 JUNE 2020 Cases 664 Local 569 Active 39 Recoveries 616 Deaths 9 Swabs 87642 LATEST COVID-19 www.maltatoday.com.mt/covid19 POLITICAL CRISIS Bartolo: 'Investigate politically responsible' MATTHEW VELLA FOREIGN minister Evarist Bartolo has admitted that the alleged profiteering of Tumas magnate Yorgen Fenech on the acquisition by Enemalta of a Montenegrin wind energy pro- ject, has "destroyed Malta's rep- utation as a country". Bartolo, who served as edu- cation minister under former prime minister Joseph Muscat, said he agreed with PM Rob- ert Abela that the allegations published by Reuters and the Times on Friday were "disgust- ing". A money trail linked Fenech's Dubai-based company 17 Black to Enemalta's purchase of a Montenegrin wind farm in 2015. Fenech, who has been charged with masterminding the murder of Daphne Caru- ana Galizia, is understood to have made a profit of €4.6 mil- lion from the December 2015 deal, when Malta's State energy company, Enemalta, bought a wind farm in Montenegro. Bartolo described Malta as being at a "political eclipse" after the revelations. "I agree that whoever was politically responsible must take the first step of their own accord, or else it should be the PM to take action. The case must be in- vestigated and the police must investigate anyone, whoever it may be," he said. The Montenegrin project, backed strongly by Joseph Mus- cat as PM and Konrad Mizzi as energy minister, could impli- cate not just Yorgen Fenech but potentially Muscat's for- mer chief of staff Keith Schem- bri. Both Mizzi and Schembri's secret offshore companies in Panama had named Fenech's 17 Black, an offshore firm reg- istered in Dubai, as their target client. "The fight against corruption and money laundering must be done not only because honesty demands so, but because Mal- ta is threatened by a potential grey-listing from internation- al institutions like Moneyval and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)… our country will lose its attraction and com- petitiveness to investors." Both Muscat and Mizzi have denied any wrong-doing, with Muscat issuing a rare state- ment on Facebook. Bartolo said both the Nation- alist and Labour governments had dragged their feet on taking the necessary steps required by Moneyval and the FATF. "Our economy will suffer if it is grey-listed by the FATF. Businesses will find it harder to work from Malta. They will find it harder to find banks to process their transactions. It will cost them more money to prove they are working within the law. That's why economic growth, the creation of wealth and jobs go hand-in-hand with law enforcement and the fight against economic crime and corruption." Bartolo said Malta's economy depended on the work of the police, prosecuting inspectors and the courts. "The people accused of corruption, mon- ey laundering and tax evasion must be accused in court, and their cases heard swiftly, and their ill-acquired gains taken away from them. If we don't do this, concretely, we will be grey-listed… it will be an eco- nomic 'COVID-21' next year and we will suffer to emerge from that pandemic." Delivery fee of just €1 per day for orders up to 5 newspapers per address To subscribe 1. Email us your choice of newspapers, recipient's name, address, contact number to production@ millermalta.com 2. Forward cheques payabale to Miller Dis- tributors Ltd to address: Miller House, Airport Way, Tarxien Road, Luqa LQA1814 Queries on other news- papers and magazines, contact production@millermal- ta.com maltatoday Same-day delivery of your favourite Sunday newspaper Monday-Friday MaltaToday Midweek • €1 BusinessToday • €1.50 Sunday MaltaToday • €1.95 ILLUM • €1.25 Support your favourite newspaper with a subscription https://bit.ly/2X9csmr Foreign minister turns on former PM after Montenegro scandal risks FATF grey-listing for Malta Evarist Bartolo (left) with former PM Joseph Muscat. The foreign minister says Malta risks FATF grey-listing Delia on Yorgen Fenech: Meeting businesspeople part of my job MATTHEW AGIUS OPPOSITION leader Adri- an Delia would not confirm or deny the presence of Pierre Portelli at a meeting he had with Yorgen Fenech, citing Portelli's privacy in a televised interview this morning. Delia refused to confirm the exact date or details of the meet- ing with the Tumas magnate, accused of masterminding the assassination of Daphne Carua- na Galizia, during which he has been alleged of being offered money to ensure incumbent MEP David Casa is not re-elect- ed in the European elections of 2019. The allegation was made by Melvin Theuma, who turned State's evidence to testify against Fenech and the men he engaged to carry out the execution of Caruana Galizia by car bomb. Adrian Delia took questions from One News reporter Nicole Buttigieg