Investigations into the Mozura wind farm project remain ongoing in Malta and Montenegro, Enemalta directors said in the company’s latest financial disclosures published in August.
A magisterial inquiry into the 2015 deal is being led by Ian Farrugia.
The state-owned energy provider said in its annual report and financial statements for 2022 that it will continue to monitor the situation and assess any potential impact on Enemalta.
Enemalta bought shares in the wind farm project from an anonymous shell company based in the Seychelles for €10.3 million, triple the price they had traded for just weeks earlier.
Times of Malta and Reuters revealed how murder suspect Yorgen Fenech secretly received a €4.6 million “profit” share from the shell company Cifidex soon after the Enemalta deal.
An internal review of the deal found Enemalta was aware it was paying Cifidex triple the original price for the shares.
A separate internal audit also highlighted due diligence omissions and a lack of professional scepticism by Enemalta’s board about the deal. Fenech received the “profit” via 17 Black, a United Arab Emirates company linked to ex-government officials Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.
Schembri’s and Mizzi’s once-secret Panama companies were, according to a leaked e-mail authored by their financial advisers Nexia BT, to receive up to €2 million yearly from 17 Black. All involved deny wrongdoing.
Legal troubles in Montenegro
Enemalta’s minority shareholder Shanghai Electric (SEP) disclosed its own legal troubles linked to the deal.
A Shanghai Electric subsidiary in which Enemalta owns a minority stake was ensnared in a two-year battle in Montenegro for failing to pay €6.9 million in VAT linked to the wind farm project.
Shanghai Electric said in its financial statements for 2022 that it had lost a legal battle contesting the VAT claim.
The issue dates back to May 2019, when authorities in Montenegro ordered the subsidiary to fork out the unpaid VAT.
An appeal by the subsidiary was dismissed in 2020, and the company was ordered to pay a further €800,000 in interest.
In May 2020, VAT was “forcibly charged” to the subsidiary’s bank account, according to Shanghai Electric.
A subsequent appeal by the company was dismissed in November 2022.