Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1478015
10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 SEPTEMBER 2022 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS A lawyer representing the Lib- yan state in an appeal filed by the widow of slain Libyan lead- er Muammar Gaddafi to claim some €96 million deposited in Bank of Valletta accounts by son Muatassim, has insisted that it is the Maltese courts who should decide the claim. The three accounts at Bank of Valletta were held in the name of Capital Resources, a company owned by Muatassim Gaddafi, under the name Muatasimbllah Muammar Abuminyar. Muatassim, 36, died of gun- shot wounds to his throat and abdomen in the Libyan civil war in October 2011 after his convoy was ambushed by anti-Gaddafi forces, while trying to flee Sirte. In a decision handed down in June, a judge ordered the return of over €96 million held by Bank of Valletta on behalf of the heirs of the late son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, to the Lib- yan state, concluding a six-year court case. But in an appeal filed the fol- lowing month, Safiya Ferkash Mohammed and her lawyers argued that the Maltese courts lacked jurisdiction and could not decide the case over the funds. In a recently-filed reply to that appeal application, lawyer Sha- zoo Ghaznavi, appointed as spe- cial representative of the Libyan State, tackled the grounds for the widow's appeal. It was clear, Ghaznavi argued, that the court of first instance had acknowledged that certain assets were present in Malta, under the control of the Maltese State, being held on account of its international obligations. Even had the assets not been physically in Malta, the fact that they were being held by a Malta-registered bank still gave the Maltese courts jurisdiction, submitted the lawyer. The appellant, Ferkash Mo- hammed, had been selective in her quoting of Libya's so-called Purge Law, the lawyer argued, pointing out that this law al- lows separate criminal and civil proceedings when dealing with wealth that is illicitly gained. Ghaznavi highlighted the fact that the Purge Law quoted by Gaddafi's widow provides that "death shall not prevent the restitution of the money ob- tained from illicit gain, even after the said money have been relinquished to the heirs if the restitution is established by a decision issued by the People's Court." Other arguments raised by the Libyan State in its reply were that the evidence clearly demonstrated that Muatassim Gaddafi had been subject to Libya's Law 40 of 1974 on Ser- vice in the Armed Forces, which specifically prohibits members of the military from engaging in or carrying out any commer- cial or business activities while serving, even through interme- diaries. Gaddafi's Malta fortune used to be managed by former La- bour Party treasurer Joe Sam- mut, an accountant who had been the subject of criminal proceedings in Malta in which he had been accused of creat- ing companies with false stock to secure residence permits for Libyan businessmen in Malta. The cash was used to fund Muatassim Gaddafi's playboy lifestyle, with millions held in his various American Express and Visa credit card accounts. The Libyan Attorney General had accused Bank of Valletta of violating know-your-customer rules that should have prevent- ed it from opening an account for Gaddafi in the first place. Safia Farkash's lawyer, Char- ilos 'Harris' Oikonomopoulos, claimed that Muatassim Gadd- afi had another heir: his hith- erto unknown wife and Dutch model Lisa van Goinga and her son. Oikonomopoulos insisted that Gaddafi's Malta cash were his private funds and not gov- ernment monies. "You've been trying to prove that the prove- nance of his funds was illicit… there has not been a single clue of a single time of any amount coming from any official or related Libyan business," the Greek lawyer told the Libyan AG's lawyer in Malta. "These funds were private funds, hav- ing nothing to do with the Lib- yan state." Oikonomopoulos was assist- ed by lawyer Louis Cassar Pul- licino. Lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace was nominated by the courts to act as deputy curator on behalf of the unknown heirs of Muastassim Gaddafi. magius@mediatoday.com.mt Gaddafi's Malta millions: Libyan state files reply to widow's appeal Gaddafi widow Safia Ferkash is appealing a Maltese court decision that has recognised €96 million in cash reserves held by slain son Muatassim Gaddafi at Bank of Valletta, as belonging to the Libyan state Driving licences: 'Ministers are not demi-gods', Greens tell police THE Green Party ADPD has called for a system of full-time MPs that could turn parliament into a credible and effective in- stitution, unshackling politicians from activities that imping one their political commitment. In a press conference outside the law courts, ADPD chairper- son Carmel Cacopardo called on the police to stop treating Cab- inet members and their entou- rage as "some special breed of citizens". "It is about time that those who present themselves as an example of political rectitude while, behind the scenes op- erate a whole system dishing out favours are not only named and shamed, but action is taken against them without delay." Cacopardo described the mo- tor vehicles licences scandal as a serious case of clientelism spread widely among ministries, and took to task the police's re- straint in not mentioning politi- cians' names. "According to unofficial sourc- es there are various current members of the Cabinet of min- isters, and former ministers in- volved in this case. Two diaries have revealed detailed infor- mation on those who may have benefited undeservedly from assistance to pass these driving tests," Cacopardo said. He said it was no coincidence that almost each ministry has a 'customer care unit'. "Voters are treated as clients who need to be 'served' by the politician in return for their vote. It is a formal system of nepotism and corruption. "To top it all one of those being accused of aiding and abetting corruption is being legally assist- ed by the shadow minister for Home Affairs for the Nationalist Party. It is undoubtedly highly unethical that someone who sees themselves as some crusader against corruption ends up de- fending someone who is accused of facilitating nepotism and cor- ruption. The shadow minister has a problem with credibility and ethical behaviour. He is part of the problem with politics in this country." ADPD spokesperson Brian De- celis said the driving licence test case had revealed that there were people who thought it acceptable to cheat, an impunity that raised questions as to how rife this was in other areas of the public ser- vice, such as in the planning and development permits. "It is deplorable that in this day and age ministers are still considered demi-gods, akin to village patron saints. They are considered as above the law and untouchables, rather than as public servants who lead by ex- ample. It is scandalous that po- litical expediency and nepotism is practised even at the expense of the safety on our roads," De- celis said.