Criminal case against John Dalli can now start after Brussels lifts immunity

The criminal case against former European commissioner John Dalli can continue in a Maltese court after the Brussels executive lifted his immunity from prosecution.

The case against Dalli will now formally start on 21 December when the prosecution can file charges over the former health commissioner’s role in an alleged €60 million bribe to influence European tobacco legislation.

Dalli has always denied the allegations.

A spokesperson for the European Commission has told Times of Malta that the executive has decided to lift Dalli’s immunity.

“The Commission can confirm that, on request of the Attorney General of Malta, the Commission has waived the immunity of former commissioner John Dalli,” the spokesperson was reported saying.

The spokesperson also clarified that the decision did not mean the Commission was expressing itself on whether Dalli ought to face charges. “This matter falls within the remit of the competent national courts. The presumption of innocence applies,” she said.

The case dates back to 2012 when Dalli was forced to resign from the European Commission after a damning report by OLAF, the EU’s audit agency, that implicated him and his canvasser Silvio Zammit in bribery.

Zammit was subsequently charged with soliciting a €60 million bribe from Swedish lobbyists to influence a decision on snus, a chewable form of tobacco banned in the EU but allowed in Sweden. Zammit is pleading not guilty and his case is ongoing.

Dalli has so far avoided being charged despite being investigated by the police in Malta almost 10 years ago. The case was reactivated when Angelo Gafà, who had originally investigated the matter, became police commissioner last year.

In the last sitting, the prosecution said it had only recently asked for Dalli’s immunity to be lifted and was awaiting a reply before it could proceed with the charges, a situation rebuked by Dalli’s lawyers.

EU officials are granted EU-wide immunity from prosecution to protect them from vexatious charges as a result of actions carried out in their official capacity.