Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/440087
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 31 DECEMBER 2014 9 'Kickbacks paid for Enemalta oil purchase' IN January 2013, MaltaToday broke what probably will go down as one of the biggest scandals in recent, and not so recent, Maltese history. "Commissions were paid on oil procured by Enemalta and regularly deposited in a Swiss bank account traceable to Frank Sammut: an Enemalta procure- ment committee member," the 20 January front-page report said. The publication of invoices showing the payments funnelled to petrochemist Frank Sammut led to his arraignment on charges of corruption and bribery, as well as former Enemalta chairman Tan- cred Tabone, and business part- ners Anthony Cassar and Francis Portelli. Police investigators also revealed that Sammut and Tabone were silent partners in Cassar's and Portelli's bunkering firm while still occupying public posts and taking decisions on the state's procure- ment of fuel. MaltaToday published docu- ments which confirmed how Trafigura, a Dutch commodities company specialising in the sale of oil to Enemalta, deposited regular amounts into a Swiss Bank account. The beneficiary company, known as Energy and Environment Consultants Ltd, belonged to Frank Sammut. "MaltaToday discovered that the payments by Trafigura to Frank Sammut's nominee company makes specific refer- ence to the Enemalta contract number for the purchase of oil. The commission is also referred to as a consultancy. Sammut was a member of the oil purchasing procurement committee set up by Minister Austin Gatt. Sammut was al- so appointed as the Chief Ex- ecutive Officer of Mediter- ranean Offshore Bunkering Company (MOBC). Every year, Enemalta purchases around €360 million of oil or around €1 million a day." In the following weeks, MaltaToday published more documents which led to oil trader George Farru- gia, who was the owner of Aikon, the agent for com- modities firms Total and Trafigura, being granted a Presidential pardon. The story also led to a public accounts commit- tee inquiry that is still ongoing. 20 January, 2013 OLAF report revealed IN 2013, MaltaToday published the full report compiled by the EU's anti-fraud office, OLAF, on the al- leged bribe requests that brought down former EU commissioner John Dalli. "Gayle Kimberley, the lobbyist whom Swedish Match paid €5,000 to secure access to John Dalli, was an accomplice with Silvio Zammit in the preparation and facilitation of contacts and the alleged bribe requests that brought down the former EU commissioner," the re- port said. Kimberley, the 37-year- old lawyer and former employee of the European Council's legal serv- ice was clearly identified by OLAF, as having been involved in the attempt to ask Swedish Match and the European Smokeless Tobacco Council (ESTOC) for €60 million and €10 million, respectively, by creating the impression that John Dalli could reverse the EU's ban on snus, the smokeless tobacco that Swedish Match produces. The revelation was manifestly spelt out in the 43-page report that OLAF made of its investigation between May and September 2012, which states that both Silvio Zam- mit and Gayle Kimberley could have been accomplices in the al- leged offence of bribery or trading in influence. "The report, obtained by MaltaToday despite having been kept under wraps by the Maltese police and the Attorney General, even during the ongoing judicial proceedings against Silvio Zam- mit, raises serious questions as to why the Maltese police refused to charge Kimberley when OLAF described her as 'a person con- cerned'." In the course of investigations, OLAF found that Kimberley lied to Swedish Match when she claimed that she was present at a 10 February, 2012 meeting with Dalli and Zammit, where the is- sue of money being exchanged in return for lifting the snus ban was floated. The OLAF report, which emerged six months after Dalli re- signed, after being read a covering letter to the report by European Commission president José Bar- roso, also categorically states that there is "no conclusive evidence of the direct participation" of Dalli "either as instigator or as master- mind of the operation of request- ing money in exchange for the political services as expressed by Silvio Zammit." "However, according to OLAF chief Giovanni Kessler's letter to Attorney General Peter Grech on 17 October, 'there are a number of unambiguous and converging circumstantial items of evidence gathered in the course of the in- vestigation, indicating that Com- missioner John Dalli was actually aware of both the machinations of Silvio Zammit and the fact that the latter was using his name and position to gain financial advan- tages'." 28 April, 2013 2013 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 31 DECEMBER 2014 Consultants Ltd, belonged to "MaltaToday discovered that to Frank Sammut's nominee company makes specific refer- ence to the Enemalta contract Sammut was a member of the committee set up by Minister Austin Gatt. Sammut was al- so appointed as the Chief Ex- YOUR FIRST READ AND FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT Newspaper post maltatoday 46/%":t+"/6"3:t*446&t16#-*4)&%&7&3:8&%/&4%":"/%46/%": €1.20 Edward Zammit Lewis and Antoine Borg pgs 12-15 CORRUPTION KICKBACKS PAID FOR ENEMALTA OIL PURCHASE MALTATODAY SURVEY Ninth District -10.6 +2.7 +1.4 2.6 13.5 NOT VOTING DON'T KNOW 11.9 NO ANSWER 32.6 45.6 .3 1.7 35.3 35 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2008 2008 2008 MALTATODAY SURVEY Tenth District -13 +0.6 +0.7 1.2 12.7 NOT VOTING DON'T KNOW 18.4 NO ANSWER 27 50.9 1.5 2.2 27.6 37.9 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2008 2008 2008 MT survey in PN strongholds MT survey in PN strongholds mt survey SEE FULL STORY PAGE 16, 17 SEE FULL STORY PAGE 4, 5 Commissions were paid on oil procured by Enemalta and regularly deposited in a Swiss bank account traceable to to Frank Sammut: an Enemalta procurement committee member. MaltaToday can confirm how Trafigura, a Dutch commodities company specialising in the sale of oil to Enemalta, deposited regular amounts into a Swiss Bank account. The beneficiary company, known as Energy and Environment consultants Ltd, belonged to Frank Sammut. MaltaToday discovered that the payments by Trafigura to Frank Sammut's nominee company makes specific reference to the Enemalta contract number for the purchase of oil. The commission is also referred to as a consultancy. Sammut was a member of the oil purchasing procurement committee set up by Minister Austin Gatt. Sammut was also appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Mediterranean Offshore Bunkering Company (MOBC). Every year, Enemalta purchases around €360 million of oil or around €1 million a day. The invoice to Sammut's nominee company with a Swiss account. The amount was equivalent to around 1% of Enemalta's total regular oil purchases: which in turn would amount to around $4.3 million every three to four weeks 15 Years