Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1501912
3 NEWS 22.6.2023 FROM PAGE 1 But Grech Cumbo Pillow was back in the international spotlight this week af- ter being linked to attempts that were made in Malta to open a bank account for Hunter Biden, US President Joe Bid- en's son, in 2016. e account had to be opened at the now shuttered Satabank and was to be used for the transfer of millions of eu- ros from Ukrainian company, Burisma, owned by Mykola Zolchevsky, to Hunt- er Biden. Details of Biden's involvement in suspicious transactions involving the Ukraine company had already emerged three years ago in the Grech Cumbo Pil- low case. In fact, the charges against Grech Cumbo Pillow emanated from a suspi- cious transaction report over the sale of a disassembled oil rig involving Buris- ma. But Grech Pillow's defence lawyer insisted that the transaction was carried out with due diligence and bank ap- proval. However, this week's revelations show emails from an executive at Burisma asking for source of wealth details from Biden for the opening of a Satabank ac- count. e email indicated Grech Cumbo Pil- low's auctions gallery in Attard as the address where the original documents should be sent. Additionally, Grech Cumbo Pillow had rented his Ta' Xbiex apartment in 2014 to Burisma owner Mykola Zolchevsky, to apply for a Maltese golden passport. e allegation this week came from a longstanding FBI informant that Sata- bank – investigated over a slew of sus- picious transactions that included or- ganised criminality – was used to flout money laundering rules for a $10 mil- lion payment from Burisma to Hunter, using various offshore transactions. e FBI revealed to the US Congress that an informant told them of an al- leged $10 million money laundering and bribery scheme involving Hunter. e House Oversight Committee said they were tipped off to the existence of a document detailing the scheme by the whistleblower. Initially rebuffed by the FBI when they demanded a copy, the Bureau relented when FBI director Christopher Wray risked being held in contempt of Congress. e 30 June, 2020 document is a write-up of claims by a longstanding informant who had been paid a total $200,000 by the FBI since 2010 for information. e informant claimed Burisma owner Zlochevsky told them about his scheme to pay $5 million each to Hunter and his father Joe Biden, through a network of bank accounts, as a bribe to halt an investigation of Burisma by Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin, and to fa- cilitate favourable treatment of the gas company. Hunter Biden's account was to be opened at the now shuttered Satabank and was to be used for the transfer of millions of euros from Ukrainian company, Burisma, owned by Mykola Zolchevsky, to Biden Burisma emails asking for Biden details also mention Grech Cumbo Pillow's auctions gallery IN April 2023 compared with March 2023, seasonally adjusted production in the construction sector decreased by 0.4% both in the euro area and in the EU, ac- cording to first estimates from Eu- rostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March 2023, production in construction fell by 1.7% in the euro area and by 1.6% in the EU. In April 2023 compared with April 2022, production in con- struction increased by 0.2% in the euro area and decreased by 0.1% in the EU. Monthly comparison In the euro area in April 2023, compared with March 2023, build- ing construction decreased by 0.6%, while civil engineering in- creased by 0.4%. In the EU, building construction decreased by 0.5%, while civil en- gineering increased by 0.1%. Among Member States for which data are available, the largest monthly decreases in production in construction were recorded in Slovenia (-6.6%), the Netherlands (-5.3%) and Romania (-4.2%). e highest increases were observed in Belgium (+3.0%), Germany (+2.0%) and France (+0.8%). Annual comparison In the euro area in April 2023, compared with April 2022, civ- il engineering increased by 3.9%, while building construction de- creased by 0.3%. In the EU building construction decreased by 0.9%, while civil en- gineering increased by 3.9%. Among Member States for which data are available, the largest an- nual decreases in production in construction were observed in Slovakia (-6.9%), Czechia (-6.4%) and Finland (-5.5%). e highest increases were recorded in Slove- nia (+23.3%), Romania (+12.6%) and Belgium (+8.7%). Production in construction down by 0.4% both in euro area and in EU Up by 0.2% in the euro area and down by 0.1% in the EU when compared with April 2022