Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1526110
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 SEPTEMBER 2024 NEWS transferring traffic fines onto unsuspecting tourists Azzopardi alleged that while cam- paigning for last June's local council elections, Neville Camilleri would tell people in Paola square to speak to any- one they know who had pending fines or licence points and recommend that they speak to him "so I can get them forgiven". When such individuals would go to his office at the LESA building in Fgu- ra, Camilleri "with the blessing, com- plicity and help of Svetlick Flores," would use the backdoor access to the computer system and transfer the li- cence points away from the Maltese person who had reached out to him, and onto a tourist "who had the mis- fortune of renting a car in their name, in Malta". The lawyer estimated that hundreds of people had been directed by Labour Party customer care to Neville Camill- eri over the last three years, for this purpose. Azzopardi also declared under oath that his sources include LESA insid- ers, who are also Labour supporters "who could not bear the filth that is emerging anymore," as well as private car rental companies and others who bound him under professional secre- cy not to reveal their identities. Some had insisted on meeting Azzopardi "at a remote and abandoned place", so great was their fear of being identified, he said. WT Global largest beneficiary In 2022 and 2023, Walid Ouhida, the owner of WT Global, ostensibly Mal- ta's largest cab supplier, was identified as one of the largest beneficiaries of the racket. The court application states that hundreds of penalty points were transferred away from the cab driv- ers he employed, on to unsuspecting tourists. As of last November, the company owned 269 Y-plate vehicles, distanc- ing itself from the second-largest fleet by 119 vehicles. A deep dive into the accounts of WT Global carried out by MaltaToday ear- lier this year revealed how this compa- ny experienced rapid growth over the span of a few years. Meanwhile, Azzopardi's application calls for a magisterial inquiry to es- tablish whether the crimes of criminal conspiracy, participation in a criminal organisation, making false declara- tions to a public authority, trading in influence by public officials, and mon- ey laundering specifically by Flores and Camilleri, subsist. Azzopardi said that although he had been collecting the information provided by several individuals since November 2023, an inquiry had to be urgently appointed to preserve the ev- idence. The lawyer claimed that three different sources inside LESA had in- formed him that a process of deleting the false database entries made by Camilleri was already underway, after Flores got wind of the leak about the racket. "Just yesterday [Thursday], an or- der was issued to the effect that every LESA employee had to sign a decla- ration that they had no 'conflicts of interest', which effectively intends to stop any employee at LESA from speaking about or revealing the web of corruption inside LESA," Azzopar- di said. That order emerges from an email sent by Marita Bianco, a Senior Of- ficer and Administrator at LESA to all heads of departments at the agency. The email states that the Home Affairs Ministry was ordering them to sign the declaration. "Of all the years since LESA was set up, these declarations were ordered to be signed urgently yesterday." The 61-page application requests several avenues of inquiry, in addition to the traffic fine scam. Among the suspected offences that the inquiring magistrate is asked to collect evidence about are bribery and trading in in- fluence by Flores and Camilleri, who Azzopardi claims, had received a cut of the fraudulent fines as well as gifts and other benefits from the car rental companies involved. Another offence alleged in the ap- plication is abuse of office. Azzopar- di names two individuals as being employed as full time LESA officials: Mauro Bianco, whose LinkedIn pro- file lists him as a secretariat officer at the Home Affairs Ministry, and Com- munity Officer Anthony Tabone, to- gether with an acquaintance of Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri, Gail Mizzi. "Mizzi is supposedly employed at LESA as a summer worker but is spending [the summer] working at the Ministry for Home Affairs," the application reads, while the other two had not turned up for work at LESA offices for a whole year. Azzopardi claimed they only ap- peared at LESA "once a month to hand over their timesheet in order to be paid." Prime Minister Robert Abela and Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri categorically denied claims they were aware of wrongdoing at LESA but did nothing about it. Abela said the allegation was "a lie" and accused Jason Azzopardi of cowardly behaviour by making the claim in a sworn court application, which cannot be rebutted in public. "This is a lie and a vile declaration made by the individual who filed the court application," Abela said. Meanwhile, Byron Camilleri described the court application as another "coordinated and desperate act" to try and tarnish his reputation and integrity. LESA falls under the minister's remit. "Those who know me, know how I have always operated and this is why I am looking forward to the allegations being investigated," Camilleri said. In a separate statement, LESA and its CEO denied the claims, adding the agency was willing to cooperate fully with any investigation. "No form of abuse or actions that erode our integrity are tolerated," the agency said, adding that any transfer of driving penalty points can be shifted to another driver through a well- documented process. Jason Azzopardi's court application outlines the process by which tourists rent a car in Malta: 1. The tourist goes to the car hire office, decides what car he wants and signs a contract for a period of time at an agreed price. 2. The tourist also signs a document, declaring in advance, that if he receives a ticket for an offence which puts points on his licence, he accepts that those points would be transferred to him. "But In truth nothing will be transferred and the points will be deleted because a tourist has a foreign licence that isn't in the Maltese driving licence database." 3. The tourist then pays for the rental in advance upon taking delivery of the car. 4. When taking payment for the rental, the car hire company also makes a €350 pre- authorisation on the credit card to cover future traffic fines or insurance excesses that may arise. The pre-authorisation is money blocked on the tourist's credit card. 5. If a tourist commits a ticketable offence, regardless of whether they are still in Malta or not, the tourist will receive a copy of the ticket and can pay it directly on the LESA website. But the majority of tourists simply leave the matter in the hands of the car hire company, who should pay the fine on their behalf. 6. Before the fine is paid, a declaration is sent to LESA, asking to transfer the penalty points onto the tourist. Robert Abela, Byron Camilleri deny allegations How tourists rent a car Fines dished out by local enforcement officials to Maltese drivers and cab operators would be transferred onto rental cars used by tourists while holidaying in Malta Former MP Jason Azzopardi has asked for a magisterial inquiry into the series of allegations he has made concerning wrongdoing at LESA that could amount to corruption, trading in influence and money laundering among others