[WATCH] Mizzi accuses Nationalists of ignoring €240 million energy theft

Consumers with any information on the tampering of smart meters that could lead Enemalta and the police to catch the "spider that weaved the web" can avail themselves of the Whistlebower Act, parliamentary secretary for justice Owen Bonnici said.

As criticism against government's decision to waive criminal steps against the consumers and businesses who paid Enemalta employees to have their smart meters tampered and register less energy consumed intensifies, the junior minister insisted that government was after the "big fish".

Citing the Whistleblower Act, Bonnici said the law was there "to defend the honest people".

"Giving information is an essential part of the waiver, something we want to emphasise because we don't believe that this plan was devised by eight people alone. Such a widespread activity has to involve more people," he said.

The government is now saying that providing information on the tampering of smart meters or electricity theft "is a prerequisite" for the waiver.

It is also insisting that legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General suggests that payments carried out by the consumers may not amount to bribery of the public officials.

Bonnici said that while Enemalta chairmen were legally entitled to waive criminal proceedings against consumer theft - as laid down in a legal notice introduced in 2006 by then energy minister Austin Gatt - he said Article 115 of the Criminal Code did not define bribery as is being interpreted in this case.

"The advice we have from the office of the Attorney General is that the consumers may have not carried out an act of bribery," he said.

Energy minster Konrad Mizzi said over €240 million in energy was consumed over the past years, without being paid for.

The figure emerged in a press conference organised in reply to accusations by Nationalist MPs Beppe Fenech Adami and George Pullicino criticising the government for waiving criminal steps against the consumers and businesses who paid Enemalta employees to have their smart meters tampered and register less energy consumed.

Mizzi today defended the government's strategy in tracking down over 1,000 smart meters, believed to have been tamper-proof, that were registering less energy than what was being consumed.

"When I informed the prime minister about it, he was angry. We set up a control theft unit, discovered smart meters that were under-registering, sent them to Enel to have them analysed, and then sent inspectors to consumers and we had a 95% success rate. We continued investigating to find the spider in this web of organised crime... we suspended eight people and the police is continuing with its investigation. The web could be larger, and we're telling consumers to come forward."

Mizzi accused the former Nationalist government of having been unable to clamp down on a multi-million energy theft, and that the same administration had launched a blanket pardon to everyone on condition of a Lm100 (€233) penalty.

"They had a one-off pardon in 2006 where not even the energy that was illegally consumed was paid back. Today we are prosecuting those who organised the racket and telling people to come forward, pay with interest and penalties. So I ask Fenech Adami and Pullicino: have they got any shame?" Mizzi said.

Mizzi also accused former finance minister Tonio Fenech of refusing to answer to how he handled energy theft under his watch. "Every year there were clear disclaimers in Enemalta's accounts flagging the thefts, accounts which were sent to Fenech and tabled in parliament."

Asked whether the government planned on publishing the list of people - both households and businesses - the energy minister said he would first seek legal advice. Pointing out that it was the public's right to know who these consumers were, Bonnici said publishing the list of names now could hinder the ongoing investigations.

"Law must always be respected in whatever we do. Automatically, when a person is arraigned, his or her name will become public," he said.

The two Cabinet members insisted they had not seen the list of 1,000 consumers.

Bonnici added that criminal steps will be taken against consumers who do not come forward to resolve their irregularities: "No one will come out of this scot-free. Those who come forward must provide information. Those who don't come forward will face criminal action."

Mizzi said that a number of persons had already contacted Enemalta, while Enemalta officers were carrying out inspections on suspicious smart meters.

With annual theft amounts amounting to €30 million, it is certain that tampered smart meters surpass the 1,000 figure. The energy minister said different methods existed with tampering different power meters and Enemalta's Theft Control Unit was in the process of devising different strategies to catch out the different methods.