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MT 15 December 2013

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€1.20 maltatoday YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT MICHAEL FALZON INTERVIEW PAGE 12, 13 Download the MaltaToday App now SUNDAY • 15 DECEMBER 2013 • ISSUE 736 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY christmastod a Gift guide y December 2013 INSIDE YOUR FREE COPY OF INDULGE & CHRISTMASTODAY GIFT GUIDE the qu arterl y, qu ality, life & sty le m agaz ine Issue No. Special 7 Chr €4 where istmas Edit sold ion 2013 Farrugia took 'double commission' in ruse devised by MOBC chief HOME S G ART ID IFT CULTURE EA S FOOD EVENTS CRAFTS ST Y GADG LE ETS MUC MOREH Frank Sammut devised $1 per metric tonne in 'consultancy fee' paid from MOBC to oil trader George Farrugia, to take 50c in commission THE former chief of the MOBC, Frank Sammut, devised a way of paying oil trader George Farrugia a 'consultancy commission' that was paid back to him, MaltaToday has learnt. Farrugia, who turned State's evidence after being awarded a presidential pardon to reveal information on the network of bribes inside Enemalta, did not tell the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee that MOBC chief Frank Sammut paid him a "double commission". By storing diesel fuel at the MOBC tanks before June 2004, Farrugia received not just his regular commission of $1 per metric tonne of oil he sold for TOTSA, but Frank Sammut would pay him another dollar in the form of a consultancy fee, so that Farrugia could give him a 50 cent cut. MaltaToday is informed that this system of commissions took place behind the backs of Powerplan shareholders, the brothers of Farrugia, whose company acted as agent for TOTSA and Trafigura. Farrugia would later use a similar plan, funnelling commissions paid to Powerplan to his own company Aikon Ltd – a system which blew apart when his brothers accused him of siphoning off millions in commissions. It is still unclear as to how Farrugia paid an alleged $400,000 in bribes to Frank Sammut and former Enemalta chairman Tancred Tabone. Under the latter's chairmanship, Trafigura and TOTSA only clinched five fuel tenders. Farrugia did not tell the PAC this week that 23 contracts were secured under the chairmanship of Alex Tranter. Continues on pages 16-17 George Farrugia Gonzi knew Farrugia's wife Christmas shoppers picking up - survey MONTHS after an outright denial of ever meeting or knowing the wife of George Farrugia, former prime inister Lawrence Gonzi has admitted that Cathy Ann (née) Bugeja was a colleague of his at the Mizzi Group. A few days before the March election, in an interview with MaltaToday, Gonzi said he did not know who Farrugia's wife was: "I would not recognise her were I to meet her." Yesterday, Gonzi said he knew Bugeja from the days when the two worked at Mizzi Group, where Gonzi was company lawyer and group chairman between 1989 and 1997. "Kathy Bugeja was secretary to one of the Mizzis, however she was not my secretary. My secretary back then was Josephine Galea, who happens to be (former PN leadership contender) Louis Galea's wife," he said. A number of emails in MaltaToday's possession confirm that Gonzi knew Farrugia's wife, with George Farrugia introducing himself to the former prime minister as her husband. Continues on back page From which locality do you buy your Xmas gifts? (%) 2008 Valletta 44.5 Sliema 25 Paola/Fgura 5.9 Hamrun 3.9 B'Kara 2.0 Rabat, Gozo 4.7 Mosta 3.9 Others 3,1 2009 39.4 22.2 10.2 10.2 5.5 6.5 4.9 6.2 2010 32.6 30.3 6.2 5.1 7.6 4.8 2.3 3.5 2011 30.3 32.4 8.5 3.5 3.9 7.2 3.2 3.6 2012 25.4 26.1 8 5.5 3.3 7.2 2.2 7.9* 2013 39.7 32.7 9.7 8.6 6.6 5.1 2.8 8.5 SHOPPING activity has seen an increase across the board this year, a MaltaToday survey suggests, showing a general trend in consumer confidence. Shopping in Valletta appears to have reverted to 2009 levels, and although losing out on the top-ranked shopping town, Sliema is attracting its highest percentage of shoppers since 2011. Sliema had experienced a 7-point increase between 2008 and 2012 following the opening of the Tigné shopping complex and the pedestrianisation of Bisazza Street, but a six-point point drop last year. Consumer confidence mapped by MaltaToday registered the worst levels in 2012. FULL REPORT pages 10,11 Newspaper post SAVIOUR BALZAN

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