Pandora Papers | EU grilled over John Dalli BVI company and pension package

The European Commission was grilled on Monday over revelations from the Pandora Papers, with journalists asking about former commissioner John Dalli and his secret offshore company.

An EU spokesperson said that they are not in a position to announce any actions against people mentioned in the investigation, including John Dalli.

“At the moment there is no action to announce,” they said. “There is nothing more to say at this stage.”

Asked about Dalli’s pension, the spokesperson said that the Commission will be looking into the conditions that would lead to a reduction in the pension of a commissioner, suggesting that Dalli still receives a pension from the Commission.

Dalli was appointed minister in the Nationalist administration of 2008, before being kicked upstairs by prime minister Lawrence Gonzi to European Commissioner in 2009.

However, Dalli was forced to resign as commissioner in 2012 after he was faced with accusations in an OLAF investigation that showed he had been in contact with restaurateur Silvio Zammit, when the latter was suspected of soliciting bribes from a Swedish snuff tobacco company seeking the end of a retail ban on its products.

With regards to the Pandora Papers, the investigation revealed that Dalli set up a secret offshore company in the British Virgin Islands without ever declaring it in the House of Representatives.

His company, Westmead Overseas Ltd, was set up in 2006. However, his two daughters replaced him as directors of the shell company in 2008 after he was appointed minister for social policy.