Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1495870
NEWS 5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 MARCH 2023 www.pa.org.mt PLANNING AUTHORITY The role requires to provide field survey and office draughting operations to satisfy requests for setting outs and topographic surveys. Successful candidates must be in possession of the following: Qualifications and Experience Secondary level of education with 4 `O` level passes; including Maltese and/or English, and Mathematics and a suitable post-secondary technical qualification in Land Surveying or Draughting. Two years working experience in Surveying and/or Mapping. Candidates are to present scanned copies of all qualifications with their application together with proof of local equivalence issued by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA), for any qualification(s) which are not awarded by University of Malta or MCAST. Candidates who are in possession of qualification(s) in a language other than English, are to present a translated copy of their qualification(s) in English. All certificates, the proof of local equivalence, the completed Declarations by Candidate, which can be downloaded from https:// www.pa.org.mt/en/ vacancies, and the Jobsplus Employment History, which can be downloaded from https://jobsplus.gov.mt/, are to be presented with the application, by the closing date for submissions. Candidates who are 3rd country nationals, are to have a valid working permit by the closing date for submissions of the call, which permit is to be presented with their application. The position carries a starting annual salary and allowances of €23,286, a performance bonus and other benefits. The above post is for an indefinite period. Interested candidates are advised to submit their application, by sending an application via email on jobapplications@pa.org.mt together with a detailed curriculum vitae in pdf format by not later than 11th April 2023 to: The Human Resources Manager Planning Authority Ref: Land Surveyor Jobsplus Permit No. 1 92/2023 Further information is available on our website: www.pa.org.mt/en/ vacancies JoiN our TeAm LAND SURVEYOR Career OppOrtunity vacancy land surveyor.indd 1 27/03/2023 15:30:22 MATTHEW AGIUS A civil court has declared that the former boss of More Super- markets, Ryan Schembri, had fraudulently bound the company with a €3.5m contract for consti- tution of debt, at a time when he no longer legally represented the supermarket chain. Schembri, cousin to former OPM chief of staff Keith Schem- bri, had fled the country in 2014 with a reported €40 million in debts left behind from the More Supermarkets crash. He is be- lieved to have borrowed large sums of money from entrepre- neurs, before finding he was un- able to pay back the loans, orig- inally intended for an ambitious import-export operation. The civil lawsuits had been filed against Edmond Mugliett, Alex- ander Farrugia, Adrian Agius, Cassar and Schembri (Market- ing) Ltd, and Schembri and Agi- us, by More Supermarkets Ltd and More Holdings Ltd. Both cases had been filed in November 2014, five months after a public deed had been is- sued, acknowledging a debt of €2m and another debt of €1.5m, representing two loans made by Mugliett and Farrugia to Cassar and Schembri (Marketing) Ltd. More Supermarkets Ltd was in- cluded in the debt agreement, along with Cassar and Schembri (Marketing) Ltd, Schembri, and Agius, in their personal capac- ity. However, it later emerged that Schembri had resigned as director of all More Supermar- kets outlets, except the Hamrun branch, in May 2014 and was, therefore, no longer the compa- ny's authorised legal represent- ative. The supermarket companies had argued that their former bosses, Agius, Mugliett, and Farrugia, had never loaned the monies and that the constitution of debt had been a fabrication. Mugliett and Farrugia coun- tered that the applicants them- selves had acted with fraudulent intent, alleging that they were simply trying to avoid repaying the loans. Agius argued that he had acted in good faith and that he was only representing More Supermarkets (Hamrun). He claimed that this lawsuit had been triggered by disagreements between Mugliett and Darren Casha, who had taken over the supermarket chain from Schem- bri. In a judgement handed down yesterday, Mr Justice Ian Spiteri Bailey, presiding over the First Hall, Civil Court, upheld Agius's request to be non-suited in re- spect of the other supermarkets in view of the fact that he had on- ly been involved in the Hamrun branch. The court also flagged sus- picious transactions that took place with the share transfer agreement between Schembri and Darren Casha to the Finan- cial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU). The share transfer agree- ment had been drawn up at a time when Schembri was already the subject of money laundering investigations in Croatia. The court ruled that the transfer had been a "smokescreen" intended to help Schembri's supermarket companies avoid being subject to those investigations. Farrugia had testified to having handed €1m to Schembri in Lib- ya, and said the funds were later transferred to Malta under the pretext of a contract of works in Libya. The court, however, said it could not approve such sus- picious transactions, and so also flagged this matter to the FIAU. Notary Claire Camilleri, who had drawn up the constitution of debt, was also criticised by the court, which observed that the contract contained a declaration about payment being effected upon the signing of the deed, which declaration had subse- quently been found to be false. The judge observed that a notary public was a "public official who has to inspire trust in any party appearing before him as well as in the State itself." Both Mugliett and Farrugia had testified that certain as- sets belonging to Cassar and Schembri were transferred to the supermarket companies with the express intention of claiming a €300,000 VAT re- fund. For this reason, the court also flagged the matter to the Tax Commissioner and the Police Commissioner, asking them to investigate and take ac- tion if necessary. The judge ruled that Schembri had acted fraudulently and that he was no longer authorised to represent the supermarket chain when he signed the debt agree- ment. The court appointed a notary to draw up a deed rescinding the constitution of debt within four months and ordered the cancel- lation of the general hypothec, together with its associated bill of exchange. More Supermarkets: Ryan Schembri committed fraud with €3.5 million debt constitution