Malta police liaising with Spain over Fuentes illegal tuna investigation

Maltese police are liaising with Spanish counterparts on a criminal investigation concerning tuna fattened in Maltese pens that could have been used for the ‘laundering’ of illegally caught tuna by the Fuentes fishing group in Spain.

Spanish investigators have said that tuna imported from fattening farms in Malta had their traceability codes – the Bluefin Tuna Catch Documentation – used on invoices for illegally-caught tuna that was exported by the tuna giant Fuentes & Hijos.

The Fuentes subsidiary in Malta, Mare Blu Tuna, has denied any allegations of illegality in its relations with its parent company. “The information you received is not correct and has been manipulated to cause harm to our company,” director Massimo Cappitta said. “We are a leading company in the field in Malta that have exported Bluefin tuna to Japan for more than 10 years, creating employment and investment in Malta.”

The Fuentes group in Spain has been accused by the Spanish Civil Guard of having used its large network of fishing companies and distributors to import undeclared tuna from Malta, and market it in Spain and internationally.

Sources that spoke to the Spanish press estimated a total of 2,500 tonnes of illegally-caught tuna was among a legal catch of 1,250 tonnes that had been imported annually by train and plane – at an estimated value of €23 million for just the illegally caught tuna.

79 people have been arrested in Spain in connection with the investigation by the Civil Guard’s wildlife crime unit (Ucoma).

Investigations began with the surveillance of the Pescnort Mar and Mafishval companies in Valencia, suspected of being the cover for the importation of illegal or overfished tuna from Malta.

That tuna is suspected to have been imported into Italy by truck, and finally distributed to a host of companies in Valencia, among the Fuentes group, which are suspected to be at the top of this network of companies. The Pescnort and Mafishval outfits were responsible for distribution and exportation of the illegal tuna catches.

In the spate of arrests that followed throughout 2018, Fuentes Group brothers José and Juan Pedro Fuentes were also arrested by the Civil Guard in June – since then having been released with pending charges.

The Fuentes Group has insisted its sales of fresh tuna are legal and traceable and that “there are no imports from Malta, only some specific purchase operations if that were the case.” In Malta, Cappitta also denies that Mare Blu is a key player in the investigation or that it is involved in the Spanish investigation. “We just know that there is an investigation in Spain, that involves a great number of companies all over the country,” he said.

Questions sent to the director of Malta’s department of fisheries and aquaculture Andreina Fenech Farrugia as to whether the DFA is investigating the Malta allegations were answered by the environment ministry, which said police are following the case with Spanish counterparts. “It is the local police who are liaising and following accordingly with their Spanish counterparts. The DFA is awaiting the outcome of these ongoing investigations,” the spokesperson said.

“It must be highlighted that the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture was and remains committed to continue striving in ensuring that all the tuna farms in the Maltese territorial waters operate within the provisions of the law. In fact, as outlined in a a press statement issued earlier this year, various additional controls were introduced upon the identification of a number of discrepancies.”

The Federation of Maltese Aquaculatyure Producers has now appointed a lawyer in Spain to follow the investigation. It has so far insisted that a statement released by Europol after the arrests made in Spain suggested that the tuna was imported from Italy, and that no reference was made to fish specifically fattened in Maltese tuna farms – but fish that could have been caught in Italian and Maltese waters: a fundamental difference for the tuna farming industry.

On its part, Mare Blu has declined to give any additional comment to MaltaToday over its latest annual figures: despite a year of booming sales of tuna.

In 2017 the company’s sales went up from €53 millon a year earlier to €56 milion. However the company’s pre-tax profit of €7.9 million in 2016 went down by 152% in 2017 to a loss of €11 million.

Auditors released the accounts with a cautionary note, saying adequate accounting records had not been kept and a rise in Mare Blu liabilities had posed doubt on whether the company could continue as a going concern. In fact, the company registered a doubling of “related party” creditors in 2017, of €37 million: unsecured loans, with no fixed date of repayment, and at interest rates of 3% or zero rates to Fuentes companies and subsidiaries.

“The allegations that you have published about Mare Blu Tuna Farm Ltd are incorrect, and we consequently decline to make any additional comments.

“We are reserving our position on what has been published to date, and inform you that we shall take legal action if any further false information, even if quoted from other media, is published in your media,” Cappitta said.

MaltaToday has not suggested any form of wrongdoing on Mare Blu’s part but requested a comment on press reports and other public statements made on the company.