Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/725667
7 MATTHEW VELLA AN internal inquiry launched by the publishers of The Times into al- legations of graft in regard to Allied Group's former managing director Adrian Hillman, has yet to see the light of day six months since it was set up. Earlier this week, judge Giovanni Bonello – appointed in March to chair the internal inquiry – was also appointed chairman of the Strick- land Foundation, which controls 78% of the Allied Group. The move had been expected months before, sources said, de- spite reservations that as head of the internal inquiry Bonello was a gamekeeper turning poacher, now heading the foundation that effec- tively controls the Allied Group. Still, news of the Strickland ap- pointment seemed to have been given scant notice by The Times, which printed the news item two days later on Friday at the bottom right-hand corner on page 8. Yet Bonello's chairmanship sparked renewed interest in what the internal inquiry he was leading had indeed achieved: the General Workers Union-owned inewsmal- ta.com reported that the inquiry had been finalised, but in their comments both Bonello and Al- lied's managerial director Michel Rizzo would neither confirm nor deny the claim. When in March news broke of the offshore Panama companies set up by then energy minister Kon- rad Mizzi and the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri, blog- ger Daphne Caruana Galizia had in her hands information from the Panama Papers trove at the Inter- national Consortium for Investiga- tive Journalists, that also showed that Adrian Hillman had set up his own offshore Panama company. Caruana Galizia then alleged that Schembri, owner of the Kasco Group which supplied The Times with newsprint, had used his clout to influence its editorial in the run- up to the 2013 election – which La- bour went on to win, and of which Schembri was its campaign man- ager. The Allied board, chaired by Lou- is Farrugia of Farsons, chose to set up an internal inquiry to also find whether Hillman – who resigned immediately – had taken bribes from Schembri at the time that Allied contracted Kasco to supply Progress Press with state-of-the-art printing machinery. Both Hillman and Schembri have denied the allegations. On his part, Giovanni Bonello has refused to confirm whether the in- quiry has already been finalised. "The inquiry you refer to was an internal one commissioned by a private commercial company and the members conducting it are bound by strict confidentiality," Bonello said from abroad. He did not state whether its findings will be published. Adrian Hillman has not appeared in front of the board. "I don't know if the report has been finalised," he told MaltaToday. The board of inquiry includes lawyer Kevin Dingli, former De- loitte chief executive Paul Mercie- ca, and PricewaterhouseCooopers senior partner Kevin Valenzia. EDITORIAL page 27 'What happened to the Panama Papers investigation?' maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2016 News SOON ON TVM For advertising on XTRA contact Claire Ciantar on: cciantar@mediatoday.com.mt Times graft inquiry Giovanni Bonello mum over finalised inquiry report supermarket more popular among those with a secondary level of education. Among this category of respond- ents, 52% mentioned Lidl as one of the supermarkets from where they buy most goods. But Lidl also appeals to respond- ents with a university level of edu- cation, 40% of whom also men- tioned Lidl. The survey also suggests that respondents with less income are more likely to shop from Lidl. In fact while only 30% of ABs (profes- sionals and managers) shop from Lidl, the percentage rises to 60% among C2s (skilled workers). Although Lidl is the most popu- lar supermarket, 63% of respond- ents who shop from Lidl also shop from other supermarkets. This suggests that Lidl is complement- ing existing supermarkets. In fact 33% of shoppers who mentioned Pavi also shop at Lidl, while 47% of shoppers who mentioned Smart also shop at Lidl. Lidl, which operates over 10,000 stores across Europe, was awarded a €13 million loan from the Eu- ropean Investment Bank to com- mence its operations in Malta back in 2005. It already has seven stores in Malta – three of them located out- side development zones – offer- ing cheaper branded products by benefitting from the economies of scale of importing in bulk. The survey suggests that super- markets in general are only taking a limited share of the market from butchers and green grocers, with the majority remaining loyal to corner shops. But while fewer than one-tenth of over-55s buy their fresh fruit and vegetables from a supermar- ket, one-fourth of 18-34 year-olds buy their greens from a supermar- ket. Overall, only 15% of respondents buy their greens from supermar- kets, compared to 18% who buy their meats from a supermarket. 82% still buy meat from butchers while 72% buy vegetables from the greengrocer. 13% buy their greens from farmers' markets. The percentage is slightly high- er among younger respondents (15%), suggesting that this niche where consumers can buy directly from the farmer without paying a cut to middlemen, is indeed grow- ing. But supermarkets rule the roost when it comes to the sale of oth- er daily necessities such as milk, toilet paper and processed foods. Corner grocers remain strong among the over-55s, 51% of whom buy these goods from them. But among the 18-34 group, only 27% buy their necessities from grocers, compared to 60% who buy them from supermarkets. Convenience stores are also making their mark, with 12% buy- ing most of their goods from these more modern versions of the tra- ditional grocer. But only 3% buy their meats from these stores. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Demographic make-up of Lidl preferences University 39.5% Post Sec. 36.6% Secondary 52.3% Primary 39.3% AB 30% C1 45.5% C2 59.6% DE 45.3% SE 42.9% Supermarkets in general are only taking a limited share of the market from butchers and green grocers, with the majority remaining loyal to corner shops