A car leasing company is calling on the transport watchdog to stop a company linked to alleged kidnapper Christian Borg from continuing to operate a government tender it won four years ago.
The company Davico Limited - which came second in the tendering process - is arguing that since Borg's company was in “conflict and direct breach” of that tender, the tender should be awarded to the runner-up.
Davico Limited already cried foul two years ago when it filed a judicial protest against TM.
In 2019, TM had suspended Christian Borg’s licence to operate the international franchises Goldcar and Rhodium.
But in 2020, Borg, as director of Princess Operations Limited, had made a bid for a public tender which involved the leasing of 38 low-emission motor vehicles, one crew/cargo van and two self-drive vans.
The fleet of vehicles was meant for use by institutional and government authorities.
The tender document expressly stated that bidders attributed professional misconduct would be automatically disqualified.
Davico Limited had claimed that Borg’s company was well aware of the situation concerning the licence suspension when submitting its bid.
What was even more “inexplicable and alarming” was the fact that the transport authority did not take that “extraordinary” issue into consideration and made no mention of it when the matter landed before the Public Contracts Review Board.
Although well aware of Borg’s licence suspension, the authority allowed Princess Operations Limited to be confirmed as the winning bidder.
Davico Limited’s first judicial protest in 2022 went unheeded by the respondent authorities who did not file any reply.
Still, Borg and Princess Operations filed a judicial protest against Davico, rebutting the company’s claims and arguing that the licence suspension issue was still pending in court.
The licence had been suspended after the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority received “numerous repeated and extremely serious complaints of malpractices” from clients of Borg’s car hire company.
Borg took his grievances before the Administrative Review Tribunal which confirmed the suspension.
That decision was confirmed on appeal in March 2023.
The court of appeal, presided over by Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff, did not only confirm the tribunal’s decision but observed that “years had passed and [Borg] failed to remedy the situation by improving his operations”.
The appellant “had no interest in remedying his shortcomings so that the complaints would decrease,” said the judge.
That pronouncement cancelled the arguments previously made by Borg, said Davico Limited in its second judicial protest filed against the transport authority, the director of the department of contracts and the permanent secretary at the Finance Ministry.
Once the licence suspension was definitive, it was now “blatantly clear that [Borg and Princess Operations Limited] were operating without a valid licence” and this was in conflict and a direct breach of the tender, claimed Davico, calling upon the relative authority to award it the tender as second-placed bidder.
The protesting party also stated that it would hold the relative authorities responsible for damages, whilst it reserved the right to take further legal action.
Lawyer Adrian Delia signed the judicial protest.