Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/773562
MATTHEW VELLA JUSTICE Minister Owen Bon- nici yesterday suggested that the Nationalist Party received a loan from benefactor Nazzareno Vas- sallo, at a time when the party, then in government, allowed the construction magnate to acquire a 21,000 square-metre tract of gov- ernment land, freehold. The PN's terse one-liner state- ment to the press conference came in three words: "Get a life", sent in a press statement. Bonnici is leading a campaign against former lands minister Jason Azzopardi, after the Audi- tor General said in a report that on Azzopardi's watch the land in Qormi, formerly leased to the Marsovin winery, was "devalued" just before Marsovin sold it to Vas- sallo Builders in 2009. Specifically, the Lands Department removed a costly condition that the land could be used only as a brewery, allowing Marsovin to redeem the ground rent for some €400,000 from the State, before selling just a month later to Vassallo. Azzopardi has sued Bonnici for defamation, because he said Azzo- pardi was instrumental in ensur- ing that Vassallo acquire the land without the onerous condition. But the minister claims he has in- formation in hand which the NAO was not even privy to. The NAO in fact claims the land in question was valued at €8 mil- lion. After the then Labour oppo- sition cried foul in 2011, arguing that the land should have been disposed of by parliamentary reso- lution, Azzopardi sought to bump up the price by setting up a com- mittee of architects to revalue the direct dominium – the condition at which the government leased the land for the brewery – and pushed the price up to €700,000. Vassallo is contesting the revalua- tion in court. Bonnici now said he was chal- lenging Opposition leader Si- mon Busuttil to publish "a clear proof " that the PN has paid back a €250,000 loan which Nazzareno Vassallo made to the party "days after the Qormi deal." "It was PN secretary-general Paul Borg Olivier himself who confirmed the €250,000 loan from Vassallo at a time when the PN was facing cash flow problems. It is legitimate now that questions are asked: is it a coincidence that this loan was granted after a com- promise was found between Jason Azzopardi and Zaren Vassallo?" Bonnici also said he was chal- lenging Busuttil to disclose whether Vassallo had loaned the PN money under its recent 'cedoli' scheme. "Busuttil never fails to accuse anybody of being corrupt, even the European Commission for approving the LNG power plant." The Nationalist Party has al- ready said it won't be disclosing the terms and conditions at which it is repaying the loan. In 2013, Paul Borg Olivier had confirmed that Vassallo's construction firm issued a €250,000 loan to party company Media.Link Communi- cations to assist its cash flow prob- lems back in July 2012. Questions were raised after the election as to how the PN plans to repay the quarter-of-a-million loan when its debts at that time ran into at least €8 million. "The financial interests of the party's commercial entities are matters of commercial sensitivity and, as you may understand, our policy is not to comment publicly on such matters," PN leader Simon Busut- til said when asked by MaltaTo- day to state the terms at which it is repaying a loan it took out from Vassallo. MaltaToday was sued for libel by Borg Olivier after reporting that Vassallo, once a Nationalist mayor for Mosta, had approved a budg- eted sum of €350,000 for expenses incurred for the PN's electoral campaign through MFCC Ltd (Malta Fairs Convention Centre). Then prime minister Lawrence Gonzi had later confirmed that a €250,000 loan from a company owned by Vassallo had been a commercial arrangement. Refut- ing allegations of donations, Gonzi had said the PN was "paying back" the loan. He had also insisted that the PN did not feel in any way obliged to Vassallo or his companies, as, like any other commercial company, the PN had to take loans to sustain its commercial operations. Vassallo Builders Group was in- volved in the construction of the new PN headquarters and later chosen as the civil works contrac- tor for BWSC in 2009. maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 JANUARY 2017 News BOV INVESTMENT FUNDS 2122 7311 bovassetmanagement.com BOV Branches/Investment Centres & Licensed Financial Intermediaries BOV Investment Funds BOV Asset Management, at the forefront of your investment needs Some people think investments are complex. We can help you better understand and choose the right investment strategy that fits your personal risk tolerance. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The value of the investment can go down as well as up. Investments should be based on the full details of the Prospectus, Offering Supplement and the Key Investor Information Document which may be obtained from BOV Asset Management Limited, Bank of Valletta p.l.c. Branches/Investment Centres and other Licensed Financial Intermediaries. BOV Asset Management Limited is licensed to provide Investment Services in Malta by the MFSA. The BOV Investment Funds is a common contractual fund licensed by the MFSA as a collective investment scheme pursuant to the Investment Services Act and the UCITS Directive. Issued by BOV Asset Management Limited, registered address 58, Triq San Żakkarija, Il-Belt Valletta VLT 1130. Tel: 2122 7311, Fax: 2275 5661, Email: infoassetmanagement@bov.com, Website: www.bovassetmanagement.com. Source: BOV Asset Management Limited. Minister: Zaren's €250,000 loan to PN, sop for Qormi land PN not disclosing the terms and conditions at which Vassallo loan is being repaid