Attorney General to oppose bail for Tabone, Sammut in corruption charges

The office of the Attorney General has filed an urgent application asking the courts to revoke the bail granted earlier today to two suspects in the Enemalta kickbacks scandal.

The former chairman of Enemalta and chief of MOBC were both granted bail today, after being charged in the court of Magistrate Gabriella Vella on multiple charges of corruption in the case of the fuel procurement to the state utility by commodities firm Trafigura.

Tabone, 60, let out a sigh of relief when he was granted bail on a €3,000 deposit and €15,000 personal guarantee, and warned not to approach George Farrugia, the oil trader who has turned State's evidence on the Enemalta kickbacks scandal.

Similarly, Frank Sammut, 62 - formerly chief executive of the Mediterranean Bunkering Oil Corporation - was granted bail on the same conditions.

The Attorney General has contested the granting of bail on the basis of the gravity of the charges. A sitting will held urgently tomorrow morning to hear the submissions. Tabone and Sammut will be summoned by the police once more to appear in court again.

The two men were arraigned at 1pm and charged separately on multiple counts of corruption and money laundering, in a proseciution led by Assistant Commissioners Michael Cassar and Paul Vassallo, and inspector Angelo Gafà.

Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Tabone, until last week the president of the Chamber of Commerce, entered the courtroom dressed in a grey suit and white shirt, kissed his wife and hugged his two sons. He was accompanied by his defence lawyer Gianella De Marco and Gianluca Caruana Curran.

Joseph Giglio and Tonio Depasquale appeared as lawyers for Sammut.

Tabone's bank accounts and company assets were found to be the subject of an attachment order granting police investigators access to his financial information.

Specifically, Tabone was charged for having accepted bribes while Enemalta chairman between 2000 and 2005 in his name or as a director of companies Eldaren Shipping, Oarsmen Maritime, Anchor Bay Maritime and Island Oils Holding.

He was also charged with having traded in influence, showed personal interest in public procurement and adjudication of tenders, revealed confidential information and defrauded MOBC Ltd.

Tabone was also charged with misuse of public funds and falsification of official documents.

Moreover, he was also charged of committing money laundering, and transferred properties, assets and monies generated through criminal activity, through his involvement in Island Bunker Oils, FP Holdings, Eldaren Shipping, Oarsman Maritime, Anchor Bay Maritime, Island Oils Holdings, Stals Enterprises Limited and Blue Sails Holdings Limited.

Tabone was arrested five times since investigations started on 21 January 2013. During submissions for bail, lawyer Giannella de Marco contested Inspector Gafà's remarks that Tabone had not cooperated with police during investigations, saying he had exercised his right not to respond to some questions put to him.

Petrochemist Frank Sammut was charged separately with the same crimes between 2000 and 2004, during which he served as MOBC chief executive and then appointed as Enemalta consultant for one year by Tabone. He was also granted bail against a deposit of €3,000 and a personal guarantee of €15,000, and ordered to sign in twice a week at the Zejtun police station.

Defence lawyer Joseph Giglio told the court his client had voluntarily gone to the police station with documents and released further statements.

Background

In the story broken by MaltaToday on 20 January, Sammut is believed to have been paid commissions from commodities firm Trafigura back in 2004, on a US$4.4 million consignment of fuel oil to Enemalta.

At the time he was serving as a consultant to Tabone after his post as CEO was terminated when Enemalta sold MOBC to the state in 2003. He was also on the verge of leaving MOBC to join Island Bunker Oils Ltd, a bunkering company that Tabone became a shareholder and director of in 2008.

Two other partners in Island Bunker Oils, Francis Portelli and Anthony Cassar, have also been questioned by police in connection with the case.

At the heart of police investigations is Total and Trafigura agent George Farrugia, who turned State's evidence after he was granted a presidential pardon on recommendation of the Cabinet.

Farrugia's trading company Aikon was revealed to have been at the heart of an investigation by the Security Services, which was then forwarded to the finance ministry and passed on to the Tax Compliance Unit in August 2011.

Although Farrugia officially became the company's sole shareholder in January 2011, the TCU allegedly focused on invoices dated between 2004 and 2010, when the company was owned by fiduciary services company Intershore, failing to link Aikon to Farrugia.

Labour spokespersons have claimed the association should have been enough to widen the tax investigation into fuel procurement practices and alert the police.