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3 NEWS 20.5.2021 Progress Press files legal bid to recoup $5 million from Keith Schembri FROM PAGE 1 Passenger traffic through MIA regis- tered a drop of 90.2 per cent over the same period in 2020, as travel bans and restrictions, both locally and in source markets, remained in place or were introduced throughout the first quarter of 2021. This drastic decline in passenger traffic impacted the Group's total rev- enue for the first three months of the year, which decreased from €12.8 mil- lion in Q1 2020 to €5.1 million in Q1 2021, representing a drop of 60.4%. Malta International Airport plc's on- going efforts to mitigate the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis were reflected in a decrease of €2.8 million, equivalent to a drop of 35.3%, in staff and other operating costs during the period under review. The Group's capital expenditure for the first quarter of 2021 amounted to €2.7 million. Total assets for the same period amounted to €229.47 million, down from €235 million in Q1 2020. Cash and short term deposits dropped from €26.1 million to €19.83 million. 2020 was the first loss-making year for the group since the airport's priva- tisation in 2002. MIA's passenger traffic for 2020 suf- fered a staggering drop of 76.1% as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions. While revenue from the company's aviation segment registered a drop of 74.8% in 2020, revenue from the non-aviation segment, which includes rents, parking, and VIP products, dropped 51.4%. In contrast with 2019, when MIA closed the year with profit after tax amounting to €33.9 million, 2020 end- ed a net loss of €4.3 million at group level. THE printing arm of Allied Group, Progress Press, has filed judicial protests in Court against the former chief of staff to the Prime Minister Keith Schembri and two of its for- mer managing directors, to recoup some $5 million when it purchased printing machinery in 2008 from Schembri's Kasco Engineering. e company maintains that Keith Schem- bri, former directors Adrian Hillman and Vin- cent Buhagiar, Schembri's partners Malcolm Scerri, Alfio Schembri and the company Kas- co Engineering pocketed a total of $5 million from the $13.5 million deal. e company said the deal had been "ap- proved in good faith by the board of directors which was presented with the relevant bids by the then chairman and managing director." "From evidence presented in Court, the company now understands that it was the victim of an illicit, secretive and abusive side deal that took place behind the backs of the company's directors for the personal benefit of Keith Schembri and its two former man- aging directors," acting CEO Alex Galea said. "e company is seeking compensation for this incidence of corruption – which has caused significant pecuniary harm to Pro- gress Press and Allied Newspapers, publisher of the Times of Malta – and looks forward to justice being served against the real perpetra- tors of crimes committed against the group," Galea said. Schmebri has pleaded not guilty to charg- es of corruption and giving false testimo- ny. Schembri was charged together with his elderly father Alfio Schembri, a director of several of the Kasco companies, and business partner Malcolm Scerri and financial control- ler Robert Zammit. Also accused was former Allied Group man- aging director Vincent Buhagiar. Not includ- ed in the charges was former Allied Group managing director Adrian Hillman, who is expected to be brought to Malta from the UK to face similar charges. Among the beneficiar- ies, it was alleged, was Hillman himself, as one of the Allied directors when Schembri's Kas- co group won a tender for the construction of Allied's printing press in Mrieħel. Progress Press ended up paying $6.5 million extra for printing machines with the money shared between Keith Schembri, Malcolm Scerri and Allied Group directors Adrian Hillman and Vince Buhagiar. Police believe Keith Schembri paid out a to- tal of $5.5 million in backhanders. Q1 passenger traffic at MIA fell 90.2%

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