Labour MP files libel suit over Gaffarena association

Labour MP Joseph M. Sammut has sued MaltaToday for libel for having described property owner Marco Gaffarena as a business associate of the MP.

Sammut sued journalists Matthew Vella and Tim Diacono, as well as managing editor Saviour Balzan over a report in which the MP was dubbed “a business associate” of Marco Gaffarena.

The report was authored by Matthew Vella, not by Tim Diacono.

MaltaToday understands that the most recent records at the Malta Financial Services Authority show that the company International Tobacco (Malta) Limited, in which Sammut and Gaffarena were its directors, is in dissolution.

Sammut did not avail himself of his right to reply under the Press Act to secure an immediate correction to the report.

Sammut is also Labour’s appointed member on the MEPA board. When first questioned on his association with Gaffarena back in April 2014, Sammut said the international trading company was in liquidation. He had refused to explain the company’s functions, and his association with Gafferena, one of his political supporters in the last general elections, as evidenced by a photo showing the businessman at a 2013 campaign event.

Until recently, International Tobacco (Malta) Ltd had three shareholders: Gaffarena, the Labour MP’s wife Sonia-Catherine Sammut and UK-based International Tobacco PLC, all having a 33.3% share. The British company, valued at some £5 million, is involved in the manufacture and wholesale of tobacco products, and its directors include Sergio Calleja, Michael Calleja and Adelaide Ellul.