Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1533641
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 MARCH 2025 NEWS KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt the investigation was unable to establish a direct financial link between Piscopo and Nair. Investigators did trace several payments from a Maltese compa- ny held by Nair to Borg. Nair has refused to answer questions regarding the pay- ments, insisting all transactions were private and legitimate. Borg also declined to comment on his financial dealings with Pis- copo, but disputed the existence of transaction records between himself and a Maltese company owned by Nair. He insisted that he had never met or had any deal- ings with Nair. Spanish-led firms behind Kappara Junction and Malta bus contracts The Kappara Junction project and Malta's public transport ser- vice contract were both award- ed to Spanish-led contractors in 2015, under the oversight of James Piscopo as its CEO. A consortium led by Construc- tora San Jose SA secured the Kappara Junction contract, while Autobuses de Leon was handed control of Malta Public Trans- port, the operator of the island's bus service. Piscopo, who headed Transport Malta at the time, also chaired the tender evaluation committee that selected Autobuses de Leon. Investigators later uncovered financial transactions linking the two projects to a Spanish corrup- tion case. Between 2015 and 2018, Constructora San Jose SA and Malta Public Transport wired a total of €5.1 million from Malta to Spain. The funds were alleg- edly transferred to two Spanish firms, Hasaura Real Estate SL and Translock IT, both controlled by Luis Carlos Yanguas, the nephew of a former Spanish MP now fac- ing corruption charges. Spanish authorities have charged ex-MPs Pedro Ramón Gómez de la Serna and Gustavo de Arístegui with running a crim- inal network that secured foreign contracts through illicit means. Yanguas, while not facing charg- es himself, is believed to have act- ed as a "commission agent" for Voltar Lassen, a company linked to Serna and implicated in the Spanish probe. Spanish court filings also list ALSA - an affiliate of Malta Pub- lic Transport - and Constructo- ra San Jose as "clients" of Voltar Lassen. Spanish contractors deny wrongdoing over Malta transport payments Spanish firms linked to Malta's public transport and infrastruc- ture contracts denied any wrong- doing, insisting that payments flagged by investigators were le- gitimate business transactions. A spokesperson for Autobuses de Leon said the money trans- ferred to Hasaura Real Estate SL and Translock IT were part of a service contract signed by Malta Public Transport to enhance fleet management. The deal was initially signed with Hasaura Real Estate SL be- fore being transferred to Trans- lock IT, a subsidiary of the same company. According to the spokesper- son, Translock IT specialises in technological solutions for pub- lic transport efficiency, including real-time route monitoring, opti- misation, and data analysis. They also stressed that Autobuses de Leon had no dealings with Nair and was "completely unaware" of any money transfers to compa- nies linked to him. A spokesperson for Malta Pub- lic Transport similarly distanced the payments from the awarding of the public transport conces- sion, insisting that the contract was won through a competitive process. Malta Public Transport never had a relationship with Nair, the spokesperson said. Meanwhile, a representative for Constructora San Jose SA said that the company always acts within the strictures of the law. Former Spanish MP Pedro Ramón Gómez de la Serna, who is facing corruption charges in Spain, admitted through his law- yer that he had encountered Nair in Colombia for an unrelated project that was never executed. However, he claimed to have had no knowledge of any business dealings between Nair and his nephew, Luis Carlos Yanguas. Yanguas, who controls Hasau- ra Real Estate SL and Translock IT, also denied any connection between the payments and his uncle. He insisted that the trans- actions were part of a client-sup- plier relationship and were sup- ported by full documentation. A spokesperson for Transport Malta said the Kappara Junction project and the public transport contract were independently au- dited by the European Commis- sion and the National Audit Of- fice, respectively. Shiv Nair and his ties to Maltese government Shiv Nair was engaged as a consultant in 2013 by Malta En- terprise, the government's in- vestment arm, to attract foreign direct investment. Nair had even been spotted in Qatar alongside Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi for meetings with Qatari officials. A letter of engagement issued by Malta Enterprise chairman Mario Vella in June 2013 con- firmed that Nair was to be paid €6,000 for his services, with ex- pectations of "concrete results" by the end of the year. Despite this, the prime minister at the time Joseph Muscat insist- ed that no formal contract was signed, and that Nair was never paid by the government. Mus- cat also claimed that his admin- istration was unaware of Nair's permanent debarment by the World Bank, which blacklisted him in 2000 for corrupt practices. Nair was reportedly blacklisted a second time after attempting to change his name. Nair's relationship with Muscat did not stop here. According to the Vitals inquiry report, in 2016 Muscat received an email "in the strictest confidence" from Nair warning him about the hospitals concession. He told Muscat that a UK com- pany was asked to investigate the hospitals' tender at the request of a Belgian law firm acting on be- half of a Maltese client. Muscat did not respond to the email but forwarded it to his chief of staff Keith Schembri without comment. Schembri then for- warded the email to Konrad Miz- zi without comment. payments to blacklisted consultant transport contracts probe THE Nationalist Party has ac- cused Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà of being hijacked by Prime Minister Robert Ab- ela following a joint investiga- tion which revealed potential- ly suspicious payments linking blacklisted consultant Shiv Nair to Malta's public trans- port contract and the Kappara junction project. "Where is Police Commis- sioner Angelo Gafà? Ange- lo Gafà must immediate- ly inform the Maltese and Gozitan public about the status of this investigation and what action will be tak- en against key figures within the Labour Party," spokes- person for public adminis- tration Claudette Buttigieg and Transport spokesperson Mark Anthony Sammut said in a statement. In a joint investigation by MaltaToday, Times of Malta and Amphora Media, it was revealed that Shiv Nair, who was blacklisted by the World Bank for fraud and corrup- tion in 2000, was flagged dur- ing a financial investigation of former Transport Malta CEO James Piscopo. Several consultancy pay- ments received by Piscopo were flagged as suspicious by investigators. The payments coincided with the period that Piscopo oversaw the granting of the public bus service con- cession to a Spanish operator and the construction of the Kappara junction by a Span- ish company. The PN said every con- tract awarded by the Labour administration seems to be "tainted in corruption". "Now even the Kappara junction project and the pub- lic transport concession. It is unacceptable that scandal af- ter scandal arises, yet no one is held accountable," the PN said. It said investigations fur- ther confirm Robert Abela's urgency in shutting down all forms of scrutiny directed at him. "His latest move appears to be a push to remove the right to magisterial inquiries, as well as his refusal to pub- lish a declaration of assets for himself and his ministers." The PN concluded by say- ing Abela wants to seize total control "because he is sur- rounded by the collapse of a system built on corrupt foun- dations." PN on payments to blacklisted consultant: 'Police commissioner hijacked by Abela' Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)