Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/315336
€0.90 WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION WEDNESDAY • 21 MAY 2014 • ISSUE 365 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY Newspaper post Editorial - PAGE 10 Embassy staff 'had a year to cover tracks' on visa fraud JOHN PISANI TRIPOLI embassy staff sus- pected by police investigators of having formed part of a travel visa racket may have spent the past year covering their tracks, a source close to the police has informed MaltaToday. The Maltese foreign office was first alerted to a suspected visa scam in the Tripoli consulate in June 2013, but only two weeks ago MaltaToday revealed that Maltese consul Marisa Farrugia had been investigated over the alleged fraud – sources claim- ing that millions in Libyan di- nars were paid to the racket. Some 300 visas every day are issued by the Maltese embassy to Libyans demanding travel permits to Malta. In a statement issued Monday the foreign ministry claimed that the majority of reports it received in 2013 "had been con- f licting" and that the ministry was unable arrive at a conclu- sive decision on what was going wrong, or who was responsible. Consul Marisa Farrugia was recalled back to Malta for ques- tioning by the police about the alleged fraud, but this newspa- per has been told that police investigators are still waiting for crucial embassy files to be handed over to them. Farrugia was only questioned once by the police from the Economic Crimes Unit over al- legations of fraud in the issuing of Maltese visas to Libyan na- tionals. MaltaToday is informed that up to 1,500 Libyan dinars were being charged for a fast-track visa application when the nor- mal visa cost €70, or 120 Libyan dinars. The processing of appli- cations and back-office work is outsourced to a private compa- ny also used by other embassies in Libya. Police sources told MaltaTo- day that as things stand, there is "insufficient information, ev- idence or witnesses to proceed with the investigations". The "racket" was uncovered by a number of Maltese com- panies that realised that their letterheads were being falsified to be used as recommendations and official invitations, to issue visas for unknown Libyan na- tionals. Last year in June 2013, after a story in GWU daily l-Orrizont, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued a statement saying that investigations were already underway before the case was reported in the media. JAMES J. PISCOPO SICILIAN fishermen are threaten- ing to take legal action against Ital- ian energy firm ENI after claiming that the Malta-Sicily interconnec- tor project has negatively affected the local fishing industry. The seafarers based in the entire coastal strip running from Poz- zallo to Scoglitti, are arguing that the submarine cable was not bur- ied in the seabed as agreed in the contract. "The cable is not buried in the seabed as was promised. Vessels sailing and fishing in that stretch of sea before reaching the Maltese territorial waters are facing con- siderable difficulties. They risk intersecting the interconnector while doing their job," a fisherman said in a press conference held ear- lier this week. The conference was attended by representatives from Italian politi- cal party 'Forza Italia', local coun- cils and fishing cooperatives in the region among others. On behalf of around 40 fishing boat owners, fisherman Nino Ni- cosia cautioned the parastatal en- ergy company to remedy the situ- ation within 15 days. He said that failure to do so will result in legal action asking for compensation for the "drastic reduction of fishing stock in the area". "It is evident the work carried out was not professionally done," the fishermen representative re- marked. Malta already agreed to pay the Ragusa council around half a million euro in financial com- pensation, after the council ini- tially opposed the project citing environmental concerns. Another €600,000 were paid to Ragusa. The 100km interconnector spans from Qalet Marku in Malta to the Marina di Ragusa in Sicily, from where it will then connect to a sub- station through another 25km of underground cables. Police investigators looking into travel visa racket claim foreign ministry was slow in reacting to reports of visa fraud Sicilian fishermen claim Malta's interconnector is 'dangerous' TOMORROW: MALTATODAY'S LATEST EUROPEAN POLLS on maltatoday.com.mt TOMORROW: MALTATODAY'S LATEST EUROPEAN POLLS on maltatoday.com.mt mt survey Fishermen denounced energy fi rm ENI at a press conference