Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1516098
7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 FEBRUARY 2024 tors said. A Maltese tax expert ap- proached by MaltaToday re- marked that carousel fraud typ- ically requires the backing of a knowledgeable criminal organi- sation. "Without knowledge of all ev- idence which is in the hands of the investigation team, it is hard to tell [whether the Maltese companies are implicit in the scheme]. The rationale behind involvement of the two-layer Italian company structure, as well as the uncharacteristic tri- partite agreement, needs some explaining by the parties in- volved." A business partner in Gordon Debono Text messages evaluated by Italian police from the accused Danilo Angarella's mobile phone indicate that he and Gordon Debono were business partners that intended to manage vari- ous companies, including the now-bankrupt Virgo Petroli. The texts, between Debono and Angarella, show them dis- cussing the setting-up of Le- onis Group Spa, which at the time was named KB Group Spa. In a later text, Angarella tells Debono about his company Vir- go Petroli, describing it as an unknown entity. Debono asks to use the company to send emails, to which Angarella obliges. An- other 2016 text shows Angarella asking Debono if he has to pay KB Group Spa in euro or dollars, to which Debono says in dollars. Angarella then sends photos of the payment from KB Group Spa to Best Petrol Company Srl; he called Debono a partner and tells him they made the first $16,000. Italian police suggest that An- garella envisaged a collaboration with Debono, but this plan fell through when Gordon Debono was arrested by Italian authori- ties in October 2017 in connec- tion with a fuel trafficking oper- ation. Debono would go on to be charged in Malta in 2020 with laundering millions of euros, to- gether with his wife Yvette-Ma- rie Debono. Gordon Debono alone was also accused in his capacity as a company officer of Petroplus, previously known as Tiko Tiko ltd, of making a false declaration to auditors, destroy- ing or falsifying official docu- ments and fraudulently dispos- ing of documents. Separate correspondence from Angarella featured in the Italian court documents indicate that he identified Gordon Debono and Falzon Group as two major suppliers of petroleum products through this sort of scheme. He specifically accused Falzon Group of using of several Ital- ian companies and the so-called three-party agreement structure to "manage a more aggressive sales price and increase turno- ver". "By acting on these companies described above, or more simply on the two suppliers [Gordon Debono and Falzon Group] who supplied this market, the impact of dumping in Italy can probably be reduced by 90%," Angarella said in this correspondence, ac- cording to the document. However, Italian police were sceptical of Angarella's version of events. The correspondence itself comes from an email he himself sent to the Guardia di Finanza and the president of Eu- robasket Roma. "In this email, Angarella himself explains the fraudulent scheme connected to the sale of petroleum products in Italy and, above all, confirms the carousel fraud scheme that emerged in this investigation. [...] In the perfect description of tax fraud in the petroleum sector, what Angarella clearly omits is to declare that he himself effective- ly administers and coordinates these companies," the document outlines. "It is essentially an email with which the suspect demonstrates his "expertise" in the sector, while placing the responsibility on those same people who from the chats were clearly his "busi- ness partners" (referring in par- ticular to Gordon Debono, in light of the explicit content of the WhatsApp communications held with him)." Falzon Group, Gordon Debono replies When contacted by MaltaTo- day, Falzon Group CEO Cornelia Zammit German dismissed the idea that the company is part of a VAT carousel. "One of the Falzon Group's di- visions sells petroleum products to clients elsewhere in the EU. These trades are intra-commu- nity supplies under duty suspen- sion and are therefore VAT-ex- empt. Since we do not collect VAT, the allegation that we are part of a VAT carousel is some- thing of a non-starter," she said. However, Zammit German said this is not the first time that the group of companies have been drawn into investigations that authorities in other countries have initiated. "Our position is consistent and unchanging: we adhere to all the legal obligations arising out of any transaction we are involved in. We have nothing to fear from the investigation you reference and will, if and when called to make any submissions, show that we have acted irreproachably." Lawyer Roberto Montalto, rep- resenting Gordon Debono, con- firmed with MaltaToday that his client was briefly a shareholder with Danilo Angarella. "However, he transferred his shares in early 2016 back to him. [Debono] was not aware of this and, as you can clearly see, no al- legations are made in his regard." Key findings • Italian authorities identified two Falzon Group companies featuring as suppliers in a VAT carousel fraud scheme in Italy • Italian court documents point to a suspicious three-party agreement between a Falzon Group company and two Italian companies that saw VAT owed in Italy funnelled into the bank accounts of the Maltese company. • The alleged 'mastermind' of the carousel fraud spoke with Gordon Debono about the operations of the two Italian companies. • Gordon Debono, arrested in Italy for diesel smuggling in 2017, was the co-owner of one of the Italian companies in the carousel. million in VAT in 'fraudulent supply chain' Italian police suggest that Angarella envisaged a collaboration with Debono, but this plan fell through when Gordon Debono was arrested by Italian authorities in October 2017 in connection with a fuel trafficking operation