Energy theft | Two plead not guilty, remanded in custody

Additional reporting by Chris Mangion

Emmanuel Micallef, 35 of Mtarfa and distribution tradesman at Enemalta, has pleaded not guilty to electricity theft from the state corporation and requested bail. The Magistrate however argued it was not "opportune" that bail is granted at this stage and remanded him in custody.

The Prosecution told the court that while the tampered smart meters have been identified, account holders of the 1,000 smart meters have not yet been spoken to by neither the Police nor Enemalta.

Enemalta's Theft Control Unit identified the persons who had installed the tampered smart meters and carried out random checking on smart meters installed by each tradesman. 95% of the smart meters checked confirmed the unit's suspicions.

The checking process is till underway. A small number of smart meters have been replaced. The prosecution argued that account holders could be "potential witnesses" and it was premature to grant bail.

Appearing for Micallef, lawyer Joe Giglio said bail should be granted: "While I understand that police have yet to speak to the account holders, my argument is that if the consumers identify the accused as the man who installed their meter, it makes the consumer an accomplice, which would make him an unreliable witness against the accused."

Giglio said that legally, the consumers being described as "witnesses" will be viewed as co-accused, giving them the right not to testify in order not to incriminate themselves.

The bail request was denied.

47-year-old Richard Gauci of Rabat, pleaded not guilty to the same charges. Gauci, currently unemployed, is a former Enemalta employee. Bail was denied.

Having suffered stroke a few months ago, Gauci limped into the courtroom resting on a walking stick. The magistrate urged the prison's director to ensure that the accused receives the required medical attention.

Lawyer Dominic Micallef appeared for Gauci.

Former Enemalta technician pleads guilty

Paul Pantalleresco, 55 of Imqabba, pleaded guilty to helping residents and commercial establishments tamper with smart meters to register less energy units than actually consumed.

He is a former Enemalta technician.

Magistrate Francesco Depasquale sentenced Pantalleresco to two years' imprisonment and placed him under perpetual interdiction.

Three suspended Enemalta employees will be arraigned today and five others will be arraigned in the coming days.

Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi, appearing for Pantalleresco, said the accused was responsible of tampering with "a small number" of smart meters. An internal investigation conducted by Enemalta discovered that at least 1,000 smart meters had been tampered with.

Prosecuting inspector Daniel Zammit told the court that each of the accused was responsible of tampering with 250 smart meters.

Earlier

Three Enemalta employees will be arraigned today in connection rampant theft of electricity from Enemalta. Police officers investigating the case are set to carry out their first arraignments around noon.

A total of eight workers employed by the state corporation have been suspended after a Theft Control Unit set up within Enemalta discovered that at least 1,000 smart meters had been tampered with, registering less energy units than actually consumed.

According to Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi, the theft amounts to 10% of the total generation of electricity by Enemalta, costing taxpayers around €30 million.

It is believed the thefts started in 2011, "exploding" in 2012.

PN organ in-Nazzjon today claimed that one of the persons to be arraigned today, Louis Attard, was appointed as a "liaison with the ministry and was awarded a promotion and an allowance increase without a call".

But sources close to Enemalta told MaltaToday that Attard was employed with Enemalta in 2005 on a scale 10 definite contract. In 2010, he was promoted to scale 5 and in February 2013, before the March 2013 general elections, his contract was changed to indefinite.

On Wednesday evening, pressed by Opposition MP George Pullicino, Mizzi confirmed that Attard was one of the Enemalta employees suspended.

As first reported in various sections of the media in 2012, the masterminds behind the racket would charge around €1,200 per smart meter tampered with, with prices going up if the job is done within commercial establishments.