Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1365814
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 28 APRIL 2021 NEWS 'Allegations of possible conflicts of interest' led ERA board to launch second EIA MATTHEW AGIUS VINCE Buhagiar was unable to explain to police payments he received from a Gibraltar com- pany belonging to former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri, a court heard today. Buhagiar, a former chairman of Progress Press and manag- ing director of Allied News- papers, publishers of Times of Malta, had received over $134,000, over $105,000 and €50,000 from an account in JYSK Bank in Gibraltar. Police officers involved in Buhagiar's arrest and inter- rogation continued testifying this afternoon in the compila- tion of evidence. Buhagiar is charged with money launder- ing. He denies the charges. Inspector Ian Camilleri told the court that investigators found an email from Keith Schembri with instructions to pass on $50,000 to a 'VB'. Camilleri said Buhagiar was unable to explain the payments originating from Malmos Ltd, a Gibraltar-based company owned by Schembri. Buhagiar told police the mon- ey was for consultancies and there was nothing in writing because it was "a gentleman's agreement". The accused had told police that he never used his VAT number because Kasco, the company he was supposed to be providing consultancy to, never asked for invoices. He told the police that he was nev- er paid in cash. The money was transferred in Buhagiar's investment account with MFSP, later re-named Zenith Finance. The owners of Zenith are facing separate money laundering charges. The case concerning Buhagiar involved allegations that for- mer OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri conspired with Buha- giar and another Allied Group managing director, Adrian Hill- man, to cream off thousands from a deal through which Pro- gress Press bought printing ma- chinery from Kasco. Hillman is being sought by the police and extradition pro- ceedings in the UK have start- ed. The case is being heard in front of Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech. Veronique Dalli is defence lawyer. Vince Buhagiar received thousands from Gibraltar company belonging to Keith Schembri Vince Buhagiar arriving in Court under police escort when he was first arraigned CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 While the first EIA was coordi- nated by environmental consult- ant and Greenpak CEO Mario Schembri, the latest EIA is coor- dinated by environmental con- sultant Joe Doublet. An ERA spokesperson con- firmed that the board took this decision after a number of rep- resentations made during the public consultation process for the first EIA which included "al- legations of possible conflicts of interest". "ERA hence requested the de- veloper to present a new coordi- nated assessment which will now be subjected again to the required procedure. ERA will endeavor to continue the EIA process for this critical piece of national infra- structure in the most transparent manner possible," the authority told MaltaToday. ERA had already organised a public hearing on the original EIA in December. During the meeting ADPD chairperson Carmel Cacopardo had flagged a conflict of interest on the part of EIA coordinator Mario Schembri, who as owner of Greenpak has "a contractual relationship with Wasteserv". Cacopardo claimed that Schem- bri could not be independent or impartial. Schembri had rebutted, insist- ing he is an expert in the field and the fact that he is operating at various levels in the industry doesn't mean that he has a con- flict of interest. "My opinion is based on reason, on logic and therefore I see that I carry no conflict of interest in this instance," Schembri had said. In a statement on Tuesday, AD- PD said that Cacopardo's sub- missions regarding the first EIA have today been proven right, since the EIA on incineration has been reissued for consultation. "This is a welcome develop- ment. ERA and the government should do their job and make sure that their processes are fair and seen to be fair. It is basic good governance that conflicts of interest are regulated and that regulators, operators in the sec- tor and consultants keep their roles clear and separate. The rule of law matters in environmental issues too," ADPD said. The latest EIA still includes a technical chapter assessing the ecological impact of the new plant which is co-authored by marine biologist Alan Deidun who was also accused of harbor- ing a conflict of interest by Caco- pardo. Cacopardo had warned that as a member of the board of ERA, Deidun would also "be expected to sit in decisions" related to the issue of environmental permits for the plant based on the infor- mation contained in the EIA. Deidun had already declared that every time a project involv- ing him as a consultant is dis- cussed at ERA board level, he excuses himself completely from such proceedings. "This has happened perhaps a maximum of five times since the start of my tenure on the ERA Board in February 2016. Similarly, other ERA board members have faced such predicaments and they all punctually similarly excused themselves," Deidun had said. Cacopardo had argued that this would result in Deidun abstain- ing from giving his input as a representative of environmental NGOs on an important project. Carmel Cacopardo