Former BOV chief executive met Gaddafi associates before company set-up

Bank of Valletta representatives had met associates of the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s son Muatassim to open a bank account, his Maltese accountant has told a court.

Joe Sammut was testifying in a court case filed by the Libyan Attorney General against the heirs of the late dictator’s son – who died in the Libyan conflict – which revealed numerous savings and credit cards account held with the Maltese bank.

Gaddafi’s millions were managed by Sammut, a one-time Labour Party treasurer who is also facing proceedings in court for creating companies with false stock to secure residence permits for Libyan businessmen in Malta.

Sammut said he still held €50,000 in his client’s account which he would use to service the Gaddafi account, although this had been frozen when he informed the ministry of foreign affairs of the account when UN sanctions were ordered against the Gaddafis in 2011.

In total, Gaddafi had at least €94 million in funds held at Bank of Valletta, with the sums of GBP 3,006,932, USD 21,440,606, and €55,629,914 held in three accounts in the name of Capital Resources. Another $12.4 million were deposited in June 2010, and a month later $5 million were deposited. Up until the end of 2015, further deposits had taken place, taking up the dollar account to well over $38.7 million, and the euro account to €56.3 million.

The cash funded Muatassim Gaddafi’s playboy lifestyle, with millions held in his various American Express and Visa credit card accounts.

In court, Sammut testified that he had introduced “the shareholders” to a BOV director, but discussions were only held between BOV representatives and Gaddafi associates. “I was not involved in these talks, nor did I hold a trust or nominee account,” Sammut said.

Sammut added that he had introduced Gaddafi’s associates, who included a certain Salah Ramadan, to BOV’s chief executive officer at the time, Charles Borg.

“There were some three, four associates who spoke to BOV in Malta at the head office in talks directly between the company associates and the bank,” Sammut said.

Sammut said he furnished the bank with company documents, but denied having prepared any due diligence carried out by the bank on the Gaddafi company.

“I did not, but I remember in one of the meetings I was present for, where I asked officially Ray Aquilina of BOV to carry out any such due diligence or money laundering report if they had any doubts about my involvement,” Sammut said.

The Libyan Attorney General says that Capital Resources Ltd has assets far in excess of what it could have legitimately earned. While the court case does not involve the bank, the AG has suggested it violated know-your-customer rules that should have prevented it from opening an account for Gaddafi in the first place.

Muatassim Gaddafi

“The bank stood to profit from the relationship because his deposits were a cheap source of funding and his massive credit-card transactions generated fees,” the Libyan AG was quoted as saying by Wall Street Journal.

Bank of Valletta has denied such allegations.

Gaddafi’s name at Bank of Valletta and in the Maltese registrar of companies was never made obvious, since it was represented as “Muatasimbllah Muammar Abuminyar”.

The movements of cash were sporadic both before and after the revolution in February 2011. Two weeks after the 17 February revolution, two payments were made of €73,832 and €60,000 under the description ‘Settlement LISA’ and ‘Settlement ALAG’

Additionally, Muatassim Gaddafi had various Visa platinum accounts, holding €122,770, €84,587, a €22,403 Bank of Valletta gold Visa, and another BOV platinum holding €61,118.

The accounts were used to settle bills at luxury locations such as the five-star Four Seasons hotel on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour; €4,890 spent over one night at the legendary Parisian luxury nightclub L’Arc Paris; €4,500 spent at the Rival Deluxe restaurant on Champs Elysee, and a stay at the Hotel Le Bristol, where rooms go for over €900 a night: final spend, €61,672.

Back in Malta in February 2011, his managers at Capital Resources would restore the balance with a €100,000 deposit.

Muatassim died, aged 36, in the Libyan desert, with a gaping wound in his throat on 20 October, 2011 after being captured by rebels at the fall of Sirte.

Libya’s claims are being opposed by Safia Farkash Gaddafi, the 64-year-old widow now living in Oman with sons Hannibal and Mohammad, and daughter Aisha.

Safia Farkash’s lawyer, Charilos ‘Harris’ Oikonomopoulos, is opposing the Attorney General’s claims. In the proceedings before Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff, Oikonomopoulos also claimed that Muatassim Gaddafi had another heir: his hitherto unknown wife Lisa van Goinga and her son.

But Oikonomopoulos has so far presented no proof of marriage or paternity in court. Under Islamic law, van Goinga would be entitled to one-eighth of her alleged husband’s wealth; her son would inherit the lion’s share.

Auditor Joe Sammut was until recently a point of reference for Libyan businessmen fleeing turmoil in their country, housing companies like tourism and real estate company Mabco, run by businessman Jalal Baayou; Ferasa International Trading & Construction, owned by Zuhir Abdusalam Almuntasar; Lamar International Group, headed by Naser al Jerrari, Jawal, headed by Abdulmoneim Abulghasseim, and West Tripoli and Tripoli Stone Company.