Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/525174
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 10 JUNE 2015 3 CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 The NAO will be carrying out its own inves- tigation into the Gaffarena expro- priation, following a request by the Opposition. "The IAID reports to the Cabi- net and doesn't publish its inves- tigations," the Opposition said, referring to the legislation regu- lating the IAID. According to the law, "all information furnished by an auditee during the course of any internal audit or financial investigation shall at all times be treated as confidential and shall be solely used by the Directorate for the purpose of carrying out the internal audit and, or financial in- vestigation". The law also says that "the Di- rector shall treat internal audit reports and reports of financial investigations as strictly confiden- tial and shall, except for the pur- pose of any criminal investigation or prosecution, only disclose their contents to the Permanent Sec- retary or, as the case may be, the Chairman of the Audit Commit- tee of the Central Bank of Malta, and, if necessary, to the Board, or to the Auditor General". Insisting that it should be the NAO who investigates the Old Mint Street expropriation deal, the PN said: "Joseph Muscat is politically responsible of this scandal and must shoulder polit- ical responsibility. In everything that Muscat says, look out for the catch." Reacting, the government ac- cused the Opposition of "incon- sistency", pointing out that while shadow justice minister Jason Az- zopardi had criticised the IAID inquiry, deputy leader Mario de Marco said that the NAO inves- tigation and the IAID inquiry "should not hinder each other". Pointing out that the IAID had been set up by the previous ad- ministration, the government said: "Why is the Opposition at- tacking a structure set up by the Nationalist administration?" News TURKIYE GENEL 14.5x18cm ING.indd 1 6/4/15 10:10 AM Former MIA chief Klaushofer 'will explain true facts' to police MATTHEW VELLA FORMER Malta International Airport chief executive Markus Klaushofer has said he will fear no police investigation in his re- gard, after his former employers filed a report against him. Klaushofer, who refused a €400,000 golden handshake to pursue an unfair dismissal case against MIA, said he welcomed any police investigation that would give him the opportunity to "explain the true facts" that led to his dismissal. Klaushofer is accused by one of MIA's major shareholders, Vienna International Airport, as well as former MIA chief Ju- lian Jaeger, of having held unau- thorised meetings with a French multinational about a possible buyout of Vienna's stake in the airport. "The purpose of this police re- port is to distract from the In- dustrial Tribunal case," law yer Cedric Mifsud told MaltaToday. "[But] my client remains at the disposal of the Police Commis- sioner in order to pass on all the necessary information on all par- ties concerned, including [senior vice-president operations at Vi- enna Airport] Nikolaus Gretz- macher and Julian Jaeger." Mifsud said that despite the allegations made against the former CEO, Klaushofer was still offered €400,000 to resign, instead of being immediately dismissed. "Why was this offer made de- spite being confronted with such serious allegations? Were the shareholders informed that this offer was made at their expense? Why did it take the directors six months on act upon such allega- tions, when it claimed to have evidence in hand way back in January? Why did it have to wait for the eve of the Industrial Tri- bunal hearing? Does the board of MIA have the interests of its shareholders at heart or is it only interested in personal conf licts to protect personal interests of a few individuals at the top?" Klaushofer's legal counsel at- tacked MIA's "mudslinging", say- ing that the original settlement offer carried the obligation on Klaushofer to refrain from refer- ring any issue to a court, tribu- nal or authority. "Once this failed it resorted to character assassination. The fact remains that the most success- ful years of MIA were during the tenure of Mr Klaushofer, which bore fruits to all shareholders. All other claims and allegations are unfounded and irrelevant," his law yer said. Separate investigations 'should not hinder each other' - de Marco The Internal Audit and Investigations Department, set up in 2003, is a centralised department established within the Office of the Prime Minister. It reports directly to the Prime Minister. The IAID is regulated by Chapter 461 of the Laws of Malta, entitled the Internal Audit and Financial Investigations Act. The law provides for the regulation of the internal audit and financial investigative functions – including the power to carry out effective independent internal audits and financial investigations – and providing for the necessary safeguards to ensure the protection of the government's financial interests. The department, referred to as the directorate in the law, has two separate and distinct functions: internal audit and financial investigations. The directorate is monitored by the internal audit and investigations board, appointed by the Prime Minister and chaired by the Cabinet secretary (in this case principal permanent secretary Mario Cutajar). All investigations are carried out by the IAID. IAID members must all take an oath before taking up their duties. The report is passed on to the permanent secretary under whose supervision the auditee [the entity subject of an internal audit] falls. Since the OPM portfolio includes the Lands, the report commissioned by the government into the Gaffarena deal must be passed on to Mario Cutajar. According to the law, Cutajar, after receiving the report, will have one month to give instructions to the auditee [in this case the Government Property Division] as may be necessary to remedy any shortcomings. If the IAID firmly establishes the existence of suspected cases of irregularities and, or suspected cases of fraud concerning the responsibilities of the GPD, the IAID – if the irregularity constitutes a criminal offence – must immediately inform the Attorney General. The law also states that the IAID shall treat internal audit reports as strictly confidential – except for the purposes of any criminal investigation or prosecution – and only disclose their contents to the permanent secretary. In this case, the OPM has declared it will publish the report. What is the IAID? Markus Klaushofer refused a €400,000 golden handshake