Former Enemalta chairman interrogated on oil purchases

The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Tancred Tabone, has been called in for questioning by police in the investigation on fuel procurement by Enemalta from commodities company Trafigura.

Tabone was a former chairman of state energy company Enemalta and the MOBC, when MOBC chief executive Frank Sammut allegedly recieved commissions from Trafigura formfuel consignments to Enemalta.

Sammut was an Enemalta director and consultant up until 1994, until he became CEO of MOBC, Enemalta's bunkering arm, in 2000.

Sammut was employed as a consultant to MOBC by Tabone, between 2003 and 2004, on a one-year contract where he was tasked with "reorganising and rationalising" the storage of petroleum products at Enemalta. He was paid Lm8,000 (€18,600).

His post as CEO was terminated by a Cabinet decision to sell MOBC to the government, to recapitalise Enemalta. Sammut was paid a Lm41,000 golden handshake (€95,000) when his contract was terminated in 2004.

Sammut, who on Tuesday was questioned by police, was revealed by MaltaToday on Sunday to have been the beneficiary of monies paid by Trafigura into a Swiss bank account, that were deposited at a Gibraltar-based company.

The documents show consultancy fees paid by Traifgura into a Gibraltar company whose beneficiary was Sammut, for an oil consignment brought in by Trafigura to Enemalta.

A petroleum chemist, Sammut joined MOBC in 1988: he was an Enemalta director between 1987-1990; a member of Enemalta's fuel procurement committee between 1987-1998; a consultant to the Enemalta chairman between 1992 and 1994.

Sammut was concurrently an employee of the Mediterranean Oil Bunkering Corporation, the bunkering arm for Enemalta, between 1988 and 2004.