Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/193056
6 News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2013 AUSTIN GATT'S MEETINGS WITH GEORGE FARRUGIA Gonzi reacts to Balzan's testimony Former prime minister did not deny event when first asked by MaltaToday in February 2013 FORMER prime minister Lawrence Gonzi has denied that a member of his security detail in 2011 gave him documents with allegations of irregularities in the procurement of oil supplies for Enemalta. Gonzi, who is no longer an MP, issued a short statement yesterday evening in reaction to the sworn testimony of MaltaToday managing editor, Saviour Balzan, who cited press reports on the subject. MaltaToday had already asked Gonzi the same question during the 2013 election, on 26 February, specifically about a member of the Malta Security Services who had informed him in the summer of 2011 of the invoices and documents pertaining to oil trader George Farrugia's activities. Farrugia was himself accused by his family of siphoning some €6 million in commissions on oil imports from their family business, Powerplan. MaltaToday had specifically asked Gonzi about the MSS member who informed him of Farrugia's activities and of accusations that he had siphoned off profits from his family business to a hidden company, Aikon Ltd, with related invoices. Gonzi reportedly told the officer to report the allegation to the commissioner of police, without taking any further ownership of the matter. Asked about this in an impromptu question-and-answer session with the press at the University of Malta, the prime minister did not deny having been informed of the Farrugia invoices: "I have always insisted publicly that whenever I had any information, I would always refer it directly to the commissioner of police, because it is the duty of all constitutional authorities to take responsibility for such investigations, and they have the power that the law gives them to make these investigations. And that's what I did, as my duty was. "Any report, whatever it was or wherever it came from, was passed on to the authorities [to investigate]," Gonzi said. Gonzi refused to elaborate any further when asked what he knew about the case concerning Aikon Ltd, the company Farrugia used to import fuel from Trafigura and Total. Former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi, who is no longer an MP, issued a short statement yesterday evening in reaction to the sworn testimony of MaltaToday managing editor Saviour Balzan Saviour Balzan's testimony On Monday, Balzan deposited a cache of previously unreleased emails showing ongoing communication between oil importer George Farrugia, members of TOTSA and Trafigura, whom he represented in Malta, as well as Enemalta officials like former chairman Tancred Tabone. Balzan is being sued by former energy minister Austin Gatt in a defamation suit related to the corruption inside Enemalta, which led to corruption charges filed against Tabone and a former consultant, Frank Sammut. MaltaToday broke the story that Sammut had been paid commissions by Trafigura, through an offshore account, for the supply of oil to the state energy corporation, Enemalta. Balzan told the court that a member of former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi's security detail had already been handed the cache of emails in the summer of 2011. The security officer had approached Gonzi with the information, but was told to relay it to his superior, Malta Security Services head Godfrey Scicluna. Scicluna, Balzan said, had communicated on the matter with a high-level official inside Gatt's ministry. Balzan told the court that he had been informed that a number of these documents had been discarded and shredded, with the remainder passed on to the finance ministry. The matter was then passed on to the Tax Compliance Unit (TCU) to investigate, but little was made of the suggestion that bribes could have been paid on the supply of oil to Enemalta. TCU investigation A tax investigation into Aikon Ltd was launched in August 2011, because the documents from the MSS officer had been passed to the TCU and not to the economic crimes unit. The tax investigation is believed to have focused on the under-declaration of taxation, although Tonio Fenech has also said the TCU failed to connect Aikon Ltd to oil trader George Farrugia. Fenech denied having known of the case or that it involved George Farrugia, who has turned state's evidence on the payment of kickbacks from Trafigura to Enemalta officials on oil procurement. The minister later revealed that it had been the MSS that passed on the documents to his head of secretariat, Alan Caruana, who passed them on to the TCU without seeing what the documents were and without informing the minister. Fenech said it was the first time since his appointment as minister that a tax probe was requested by the head of the secret service. Neither the MSS nor the TCU is answerable to the finance ministry. Fenech was informed, however, that the TCU's investigation, dealing with invoices covering the period from 2004 to 2010, had only focused on the shareholder of Aikon Ltd at the time, a nominee company called Intershore Fiduciary Services. The nominee company had resigned its services to Farrugia's Aikon Ltd in January 2011, however, after Farrugia was sued by the John's Group for allegedly hiving off profits from Powerplan to Aikon Ltd. Emails Balzan said he would be summoning other witnesses in the Oil trader George Farrugia was accused by of siphoning some €6 million from his own family business, Powerplan case, but said these were currently involved in other proceedings related to the criminal prosecution for bribery and could therefore incriminate themselves in the matter. In court on Monday, Balzan said that it was in January 2012 that MaltaToday broke the story and the emails he was depositing in court – which he said had been verified by an IT expert as the original correspondence – specifically mention the former minister, Austin Gatt. In one email dated 4 June 2003, Farrugia told Tancred Tabone, "I am waiting for a confirmation from Total, will give you details re mtng with AG regarding Enemalta". On 17 July 2003, Farrugia told Trafigura official Naim Ahmed, "I met the new minister and the new chairman. Enemalta is interested in foreign partnerships. We cannot waste time so I need a reply quick". In March 2004, Farrugia spoke to Total official Albert Fereres: "As promised I had meeting with the minister responsible for Enemalta. He is very positive... he said 'Ask them if they want to take over all our storage facilities and totally run the game'." On 22 March 2005, Farrugia told Tabone, "Hi Tancred, will meet Austin this afternoon. Can I meet you after?" Then in April 2005,