Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/467065
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2015 4 News CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Emails seen by MaltaToday show that commer- cially sensitive information was ex- changed between the MRA director and George Farruia, such as those on a meeting of 20 February, 2009, at the MRA energy directorate, attend- ed by Maurizio Busuttil from the MRA, and Mark Scerri and Michael Seychell for the Malta Environment and Planning Authority. The subject was the proposed legal notice on the control of volatile or- ganic compound emissions, namely the storage and distribution of pet- rol from terminal to service stations. The proposals were earmarked for the Office of the Prime Minister but were in George Farrugia's hands be- fore they got there. Farrugia offered his first petrol pump services through Powerplan, the John's Group subsidiary that he ran as part of his brothers' group of companies. In time however, his brothers ac- cused Farrugia of siphoning profits from Powerplan's oil procurement, accusing him of defrauding them to the tune of €6 million. He later settled out of court for €1 million, and in the process, could not stop a damning cache of emails of his secret dealings with Trafigura and Tosta being presented in a court of law as evidence. He set up his own company, Cen- tre Point Resources Limited, to carry out business constructing petrol pump stations for entrepreneurs. One of his legal advisers on the fu- el stations business happened to be former judge Godwin Muscat Azzo- pardi, an individual who in the past faced probes in relation to fraud due to his association and business part- nership with disbarred lawyer and convicted fraudster Patrick Spiteri. But the intelligence passed on to George Farrugia by Godwin Sant included first drafts of sensitive legislation related to petrol pump development. Godwin Sant sent out the attachments from his Gmail ac- count, prefaced with the wording: "…as agreed please see the attached for your better understanding of the subject." Farrugia lost no time at all in us- ing the information to his benefit, so that he could run his fuel pump pro- curement business more effectively thanks to the inside information. Godwin Sant's usefulness had no bounds. He would supplement George Farrugia's craving for sealing contracts and business deals by pro- posing a line of action: specifically, advising whom to contact and how to get in touch with the people who mattered. Minutes of the meetings he gave to Farrugia gave out useful and crucial information on how the fuel dis- pensers would have to be upgraded, and on the incorporation of recov- ery of gases, upgrade of pipework and removal and re-instatement of forecourt areas. This information was important for George Farrugia to be able to clinch the contracts to build the pet- rol pump stations. The fuel stations which Farrugia developed included the JM Micallef petrol station off Mdina, the one on Attard Road leading to Rabat, the Tal-Barrani petrol station, and the Gaffarena petrol station in Qormi, which was only sanctioned to start operations recently. Police investigations into the oil scandal are ongoing, more recently since MaltaToday revealed the rela- tionship between George Farrugia and Godwin Sant. In an interview to the Malta Inde- pendent, Farrugia claimed that his commitment to tell the truth was not relevant when it came to other cases of alleged impropriety and possible trading of influence of civil servants. Police are at pains at establish- ing a money trail between Farrugia and his government informants: it is standard that bribes are effected in cash payments, not by traceable methods like bank cheque. Sant, Farrugia and Enemalta sen- ior officer Emmanuel Mizzi remain on police bail since the publication of emails in MaltaToday on the re- lationship between insiders and the oil trader. sbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt TIM DIACONO FORMER Enemalta chairman Ed- mond Gatt Baldacchino has whole- heartedly denied that his public duty had been in any way influenced by George Farrugia, despite the corrupt oil trader having gifted him with a painting worth €1,226. "I had already tendered my resig- nation from Enemalta by Christmas of 2010, which is when Farrugia had gifted me with the painting," Gatt Baldacchino told MaltaToday. "I had no idea that the painting was worth so much money either. It was sim- ply a sketch of a naked woman and I would have sent it back to Farrugia had I known it cost so much money. He should have given the money to charity instead. "I have already confirmed with the police that Farrugia's gift never in- fluenced any decisions I made while chairman of Enemalta. I am a man of integrity." Gatt Baldacchino was one of a number of high-ranking Enemalta officials whom Farrugia had gifted with Christmas presents between 2010 and 2012. A significant name on the list of present recipients, re- leased by Farrugia himself to the Public Accounts Committee in 2013, is Enemalta's Chief Financial Officer, Antoine Galea. Farrugia gifted Galea with a €999 painting in 2010, a €997 pair of cuf- flinks in 2011 and a €1,333 Paul Picot watch in 2012. However, when asked by MaltaToday whether these gifts had influenced the way he had con- ducted his public duties, Galea sim- ply refused to comment. Farrugia also gifted William Spiteri Bailey, Gatt Baldacchino's successor as Enemalta chairman, with a €1,044 pair of cufflinks in 2011 and a €336 Faber Castel pen in 2012. Spiteri Bailey, coincidentally a neighbour of Galea, was unavailable for comment at the time of writing. According to Malta's public admin- istration act, civil servants are forbid- den from accepting gifts that might create an obligation to their senders. The law adds that a gift can be inter- preted as an inducement or a reward simply because of its intrinsic value. As such, civil servants are only al- lowed to accept token gifts. Farrugia had monopoly on petrol pump business 'Farrugia's €1,200 gift did not influence my decisions' Information Session on COST The Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) is organizing an information session on COST, Co-operation in Science and Technology www.cost.eu COST is a networking mechanism by which researchers can gain excellent networking exposure with colleagues working in same areas across Europe. It is administratively extremely simple and inclusive. It is an instrument that aims to include all stakeholders, not only academics, as research and innovation affects all sectors. The huge advantages of participating in COST, both to academics as well as to SMEs, industry and public entities will be highlighted during the information session. The information session will be held on 6 March 2015 at 08.30hrs at Villa Bighi, Kalkara. Participants are to conrm their attendance to Ms. Laura Sue Armeni at laurasue. armeni@gov.mt by noon on 4 March 2015. Places are limited and conrmation will be given on a rst come rst served basis. The Malta Council For Science And Technology, Villa Bighi, Kalkara KKR 1320, Malta www.mcst.gov.mt Edmund Gatt Baldacchino