Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/977918
maltatoday SUNDAY 6 MAY 2018 News 3 THE ESSENCE OF TEA DISCOVER MORE AT NESTEA.COM NO ARTIFICIAL COLOURS & FLAVOURS NATURAL, REFRESHING & TASTY A NEW & IMPROVED FORMULA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "If the Maltese courts uphold decisions delivered in a UK court on defamation actions, the con- sequences for the free press and Maltese democracy would be disastrous. The government has to send a clear message that all SLAPP actions emanating from EU courts are against Maltese public policy," Vella said. The government has insisted an anti-SLAPP provision moved by the Opposition for inclusion in Malta's revamped media law would be contrary to EU rules that demand member states uphold foreign court decisions on matters of tort. Maltese law and jurisprudence, however, provides that a foreign judgement is refused when it of- fends Maltese public policy. "It is clear that with the Maltese government having set much store by the new media and defamation law, it now has to pronounce itself publicly: EU court judgements on defamation meant to debilitate Maltese newspapers are contrary to public policy," managing editor Saviour Balzan said. In the letter from Baker, Mish- con de Reya claimed that stat- ing that Pilatus Bank was "at the centre" of the complex company structure of which Baker is a di- rector, implicated him in the "well publicised allegations" pursued by the Daphne Project. But MaltaToday listed the com- panies that hold accounts with Pilatus Bank, without inferring anything unusual in those banking relationships. Mishcon de Reya said using the word "flagged" – where MaltaTo- day referenced the reason Baker had been named in the Daphne Project – was aimed at linking Baker to suspicious transactions. The firm also claimed that an infographic of Baker's company directorships in Malta suggested "clandestine dealings", but at no point was any wrongdoing sug- gested in the structure of compa- nies it depicted. An analysis by a financial ser- vices expert which suggested the company structure was aimed at achieving beneficial tax rates through profit-shifting – a form of tax avoidance that is not illegal – "imputed an innuendo of impro- priety". "MaltaToday clearly stated in its article that there was no sugges- tion of wrongdoing or that those mentioned had acted illegally," Matthew Vella said. "The aim of the article was to expose the high concentration of companies linked to politically exposed persons from Azerbai- jan – a country often criticised for alleged human rights abuses and violations of the rule of law – and which raise questions on the oper- ations of Pilatus Bank, which has now passed under controllership since the arrest of its chairman and owner in the United States." Company registers are pub- licly accessible and information on ultimate beneficial owners is mandatorily communicated to the Malta Financial Services Author- ity under new anti-money laun- dering rules. In April, Daphne Project jour- nalists broke the news that Pila- tus Bank held accounts for up to 50 companies linked to Azerbai- jani oligarchs. Account-holders reportedly included companies owned by members of the Azer- baijani ruling family and its min- isters as part of a structure used to hold European investments. One such company, the French company Heritage Collection, was revealed to be the Heydarov brothers'. The company is owned by Heritage Collection SA, regis- tered in Luxembourg, and in turn owned by the Maltese company Heritage Asset Holdings. Law- yers for the Heydarov brothers told the Daphne Project: "Our cli- ents are the beneficial owners of companies which hold accounts at Pilatus Bank in Malta, which have entirely legitimate and lawful business." The Maltese company register lists Robert Baker as one of the three directors of Heritage Asset Holdings. So MaltaToday tracked all the companies set up by Baker, and analysed the financial state- ments filed with the MFSA: for example, in the case of Kimberly Holding, the company is seen to have borrowed money from an unknown entity at 6% interest, but then passed on that money to its subsidiaries without any interest and bearing the costs of its bor- rowing, while passing proceeds to its subsidiaries without interest. Another group of companies un- der the nomenclature Andalusia Property, appear to own over €25 million in property as well as a Bulgarian subsidiary. Frendo Advisory role All 18 companies were opened between July 2015 and Decem- ber 2015 by Frendo Advisory, a firm headed by former Nationalist foreign minister Michael Frendo. His son Luke Frendo, head of the advisory's private client depart- ment, was company secretary for a number of the companies. But he filed his resignation as secretary from the 14 companies he represented on 26 April 2017, soon after the first reports on Pila- tus Bank and the mysterious Pan- ama company Egrant were pub- lished by Daphne Caruana Galizia. He told MaltaToday that he had chosen to resign all his positions with the entities upon finding out about the allegations. "As soon as I became aware of the problems of Pilatus bank through the media reports, not on the advice of any- one, I resigned from that position and we no longer provide services to these entities. Until that point, I was not aware of anything unto- ward about Pilatus bank." MaltaToday asked Frendo whether the necessary due dili- gence was carried out to be suf- ficiently aware if the UBOs of the companies were members or as- sociates of the Azerbaijani ruling family, such as the Heydarovs. "We always carry out our due diligence fully in line with our ob- ligations. You can appreciate that I am not able to divulge any pro- fessionally confidential informa- tion." Both Michael and Luke Frendo are individual agents of the In- dividual Investor Programme, Malta's citizenship-by-investment scheme. Maltese government must send clear message that SLAPP threats will not be upheld SUPPORT MALTATODAY www.maltatoday.com.mt/ maltatodaydigitaledition and scroll down to 'SUPPORT US' 'SLAPPs are being used by financial elites and tax pirates to condition Maltese journalism' Mishcon de Reya are the respectable lawyers who famously acted for Diana, Princess of Wales, in her divorce as well as for Sir Paul McCartney in his marital split. The law firm was employed by Henley & Partners in legal threats it made to the late Daphne Caruana Galizia. Ironically, Mishcon de Reya's deputy chairman, Prof. Anthony Julius, sits on the board of English PEN, the worldwide writers' association which stepped into the fray to call for justice for murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and demand that "Maltese authorities respect and protect freedom of expression, journalists and whistleblowers in line with international standards." PEN bills itself as standing for the "unhampered transmission of thought" and members "pledge themselves to oppose any form of suppression of freedom of expression". In 2006, Mishcon de Reya was revealed as having employed private detectives to obtain information on certain data subjects. In one prosecution, private detectives Sharon and Stephen Anderson pleaded guilty to more than 50 charges of obtaining information contrary to the Data Protection Act. One of their victims was a businessman called David Hughes. The Andersons were working for a detective agency called Carratu, which had in turn been hired by Mishcon de Reya, to discover Hughes's assets. Mishcon de Reya was not found to be at fault but the case highlighted the dangers of hiring investigators to conduct clandestine intelligence-gathering. The law firm defended itself from accusations, cutting ties with Carratu, and said that the corporate investigators it hired complied with the law "and prohibits any investigator from subcontracting any of those services to third parties". Who are Mishcon de Reya? Mishcon de Reya's deputy chairman, Prof. Anthony Julius, sits on the board of English PEN