Charges have been issued against the brothers of George Farrugia, the oil trader turned State witness in the Enemalta oil procurement scandal, almost two years after they were first arrested, incoming Police Commissioner Michael Cassar said.

Mr Cassar was answering questions by The Times of Malta.

Mr Cassar said the Farrugia brothers, Salvu, Antonio, Gaetano and Raymond will be charged after they allegedly admitted knowledge of the fact their brother was paying bribes to officials to secure oil contracts from Enemalta for Powerplan Ltd, the family business he once managed.

Former police inspector Angelo Gafà has told Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, which is discussing the case, that he had intended prosecuting the brothers before he was reassigned to the Security Service in June 2013.

He said he was waiting for some bank documents before pushing ahead but confirmed the decision had been taken, leaving observers puzzled as to why no charges were issued in the meantime. This prompted the Opposition to question if the brothers had been spared prosecution because they were the former clients of Dr Mallia, who denied the claim.

Asked about the John Dalli case, in which he had been one of the lead investigators, Mr Cassar said any new evidence or any new investigative line would be pursued until exhausted.

Last month he told the parliamentary Pubic Accounts Committee that the police would only have stood a chance of securing a conviction against Mr Dalli if he was arraigned with his ex-canvasser Silvio Zammit. 

More in The Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com.