Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/451763
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 JANUARY 2015 13 News helping hand to the corrupt oil trader to Enemalta fell within the criteria es- tablished in tenders. Again Sant was privy to informa- tion and to data collected that would establish whether an oil supplier rep- resented by George Farrugia would have the right specifications. An oil shipment with the wrong specifica- tions would mean hundreds of thou- sands in extra costs to ensure proper adherence. It went further than that. In another set of new emails, Godwin Sant put pressure on Pippo Pandolfino, the chief financial officer at Enemalta, to finalise and send the Totsa oil com- pany contract for fuel oil and inland fuel. At the same time he is sending a blind copy of the correspondence to George Farrugia – the Totsa agent. Obviously, closure of the contractual agreement with Totsa would have left Farrugia with more commissions. The police have been tight-lipped about whether they had made any inroads with Godwin Sant. Apart from interrogating Sant last week, the police also interrogated George Far- rugia, after his abrupt departure form Malta last Sunday with his lawyer Siegfried Borg Cole. Presidential pardon in the balance If former energy regulator God- win Sant is arraigned, there is little doubt that the presidential pardon that former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi decided to grant, together with his Cabinet in February 2013, may very well be in the balance. It may also serve to shed more light on the background to the pardon, and whether the grant was motivated by other reasons. Lawrence Gonzi has previously ve- hemently denied that he knew Cathy Farrugia, but then changed tack when faced with a thread of emails indicat- ing some degree of familiarity. He has claimed that he did not know George Farrugia or that he recalled meeting him – even though there was a meeting with him on a privatisa- tion issue in Castille, together with a representative for anew project by the name of Horizon Terminals. This was confirmed by business- man Beppe Hili, who told MaltaTo- day when contacted that he had been present for a meeting with the Prime Minister, and that the meeting was attended and organised by George Farrugia. George Farrugia was a very well- known PN follower and a well-known face to many of the former National- ist ministers. The former Prime Min- ister also knew George's wife since she was one of two secretaries on the same floor as Gonzi – formerly chair- man of the Mizzi Organisation – at Mizzi House. They effectively worked together for over eight years, during which Cathy Farrugia also served on a number of occasions as secretary to the board when Gonzi was company secretary. In fact familiarity may be the per- fect word, as an email exchanged between Lawrence Gonzi and Cathy Farrugia in 2004 appears to confirm: "Dear Cathy and Family, Thank you for your message and for the photos. Give my best regards to everyone. Lawrence Gonzi." But in last Friday's public accounts committee hearing, no one asked the former Prime Minister if the fact that he knew Cathy and her family, when deciding on the presidential pardon, had any bearing on his final decision. The discussion programme 'Reporter' tomorrow deals with the energy sector, bringing up everything related to oil purchases, and energy production and distribution in the country. It is presented by journalist Saviour Balzan and has a production by the MediaToday newsroom. 'Reporter' is aired live on TVM2 at 8.40pm, and is repeated immediately afterwards on TVM. Comments may be sent on www.facebook.com/reporterontvm Energy on 'Reporter' The newspaper cutting with Godwin Sant's comments A thank you email from Total after Godwin Sant and George Farrugia made a joint presentation in Paris Sant informs Farrugia that he will be passing on the report to the ministry, and keep him in the loop Godwin Sant instructs George Farrugia whom to contact at WastServ and the thread of emails before this The emails from Cathy Farrugia to Lawrence Gonzi in 2004