Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1524298
A court has ordered the State to pay over €1.7 million in compensation for the ex- propriation of the land at the Corradino industrial estate from a ship repair com- pany. was accorded compensation by an Appeals Court, after originally having its claim upheld by the Land Arbitration Board. The land comprised 4,650sq.m, which the company was accorded on a 99-year emphyteusis by the Nationalist adminis- tration in 1966. The land was expropriated by the La- bour government in 1977 for the creation of the Corradino industrial estate, but the company maintained a ship-repair yard at Coal Wharf, beneath Corradino, after ex- propriation. Originally, Bezzina was accorded €1.52 million by the Land Arbitration Board, apart from interest at 8% accruing from 1977 to date on the value of €514,000. The successor company, Bezzina Ship Repair Yard, originally petitioned the courts for €3.7 million in damages for the land concession that it was denied. The company still retained part of the land for its business of ship-repair and construction and had petitioned the gov- ernment for the return of the land that was not used for industrial development. An offer was made for land in Qawra, that was however outside the building zones. In 2014, the Lands Authority offered a settlement of €1 million over and above interest of €1.37 million which the com- pany was claiming, but the offer was re- jected by director Victor Bezzina. The Appeals Court threw out the Lands Authority's appeal, upholding the demand for compensation: the court said the land was valued at €1.52 million in 2023, from which the total rental value accruing from 1987 onwards, the year Malta acceded to the European Convention of Human Rights. This amounted to €1.87 million, less 20% due to the uncertainty of the land having been leased for the entire period, to reach €1.49 million. The Appeals Court however determined that damages owed to Bezzina Ship Repair would be €1.7 million, apart from interest at 8% accruing from 1977 to date on the value of €1.5 million. MATTHEW VELLA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt 9 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 JULY 2024 KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Ship-repair company awarded €1.7 million compensation over 1977 expropriation Police awaiting court direction on accused in social benefits racket seeking whistleblower status THE police are awaiting the court's direction to speak to an accused person in the social ben- efits fraud case, who is asking for whistleblower status. Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà told radio host Andrew Az- zopardi that Roger Agius could not be spoken to unless the court gave its go-ahead. Agius is one of several people who were charged with a benefits racket that saw ineligible people receive severe disability benefits after presenting false medical documents. Former Labour MP Silvio Grixti is one of the persons charged with masterminding the racket. Agius has been clamouring for whistleblower status, insisting he will be willing to spill the beans and uncover a wider network of abuse. Speaking on RTK103, Gafà said it was police investigations that kicked off from a single person's report that uncovered a whole network of abuse. Asked about Agius's request for whistleblower status, Gafà said: "The prosecu- tor asked the court for direction to be able to speak to Roger Agi- us; we needed court direction be- cause today he stands charged." The Police Commissioner was also asked whether he would be investigating the claim made ear- lier this week by former MP Jason Azzopardi that Chris Fearne had told him Joseph Muscat request- ed immunity and that Steward remain in Malta during the La- bour Party leadership race. Gafà said Azzopardi's allega- tion on its own was based on hearsay. Speaking on a general level, he said the police were al- ways vigilant whenever claims of criminal activity are made and these are investigated. He was also asked to comment on several ongoing cases. On al- legations of a massive racket at Identità, the government agency responsible for identity manage- ment, Gafà said police investiga- tions are ongoing despite three men having been charged with obtaining residence permits in a fraudulent manner. On the case involving allega- tions that former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri had leaked sensitive information to Yor- gen Fenech about the Caruana Galizia murder investigation, Gafà said the magisterial inquiry was still going on. He noted the magisterial inquiry had started before he became police com- missioner in 2020 and insisted it was the right way to go about the case because it implicated the police. Commenting on criticism di- rected towards him by the Op- position and NGO Repubblika, Gafà insisted that over the past four years trust in the police force has increased as evidenced by Eu- robarometer and NSO surveys. "I could have expected what was coming when the Opposi- tion did not attend my parlia- mentary grilling four years ago," he said. Gafà noted that "apart from Repubblika there are four peo- ple" who started "attacking" him with calumnious claims even be- fore he had been selected police commissioner. "This is all personal and an attempt to intimidate me… my five-year-old son came home asking his mother whether dad- dy is going to jail," Gafà said, adding he had grown a thick skin over these years. "I have to remain focussed on improving the police force," he told his host. Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà The Bezzina Ship Repair Yard facility