Former energy minister Konrad Mizzi knew Electrogas would be the chosen bidder for the power station contract before Enemalta’s board even approved the decision.

Board minutes obtained by the public accounts committee (PAC) indicate that Mizzi was given a presentation at Castille – showing Electrogas would be chosen for the project – on October 11, 2013.

At that stage, Enemalta’s board had yet to vote on that decision or even be informed of it, despite the corporation being responsible for awarding the contract.

Enemalta Corporation is pleased to announce that the Electrogas Malta Consortium has been declared as the preferred bidder.- Presentation to board before vote

During a grilling by the PAC this week, Enemalta board secretary Aron Mifsud Bonnici was questioned about the timing of the board’s approval.

The approval was given during an extraordinary board meeting, one day after Mizzi had already been told who would be given the contract.

Mifsud Bonnici pushed back at suggestions that the board was merely used to rubberstamp a decision that had already been taken. He also denied having a conflict of interest, despite also being the energy ministry’s lawyer and Mizzi’s personal lawyer at the same time.

Mifsud Bonnici said that during the “lengthy” and “technical” presentation, there was “engagement” from the board members, who asked questions or for clarifications.

'Board told outcome'

PN MPs Darren Carabott and David Agius pointed out that one slide in the presentation given to the board declared: “Enemalta Corporation is pleased to announce that the Electrogas Malta Consortium has been declared as the preferred bidder.”

The MPs argued that the board was being told the outcome even before voting on whether Electrogas should be given preferred bidder status.

The presentation to both Mizzi and the board was given by Mizzi’s associate, David Galea, and then Enemalta CEO Louis Giordimaina after an evaluation process by a committee appointed by Mizzi’s ministry.

The committee included Galea as well as Nexia BT managing partner Brian Tonna. Nexia BT was used by Mizzi to set up a Panama company suspected to have been a secret vehicle for kickbacks. 

Ex-Enemalta chairman Charles Mangion has in the past argued that the board vote was merely a “ratification” of the evaluation committee’s decision to give Electrogas the contract.

He and other board members have told the PAC they were unaware of the Castille meeting the day before they voted.

Mizzi and ex-OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri were both banned from travelling to the US due to their involvement in “significant corruption”.

The US justified the December 2021 ban by saying there was credible information that Mizzi and Schembri were involved in “a corrupt scheme that entailed the award of a government contract for the construction of a power plant and related services in exchange for kickbacks and bribes”.

A leaked e-mail from Nexia BT indicated that both Mizzi’s and Schembri’s Panama companies were to receive massive deposits from 17 Black, a company owned by former Electrogas director Yorgen Fenech.

All three men deny wrongdoing.