Maltese arms dealer James Fenech has denied that two boats chartered through one of his companies were in any way connected to money laundering or military purposes.
On Friday, Fenech and four of his employees were charged in court with breaching EU sanctions on Libya.
According to the prosecution, Fenech, 41, allegedly used two military-grade Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) to circumvent international sanctions and transport private contractors into war-torn Libya without notifying the relevant authorities.
Fenech’s chartering company Sovereign Charters Limited issued a statement on Monday outlining "the facts” and denying any wrongdoing.
“The company said that in June 2019 it had been approached by a very reputable and globally-known company operating in the UAE to charter two of its vessels for 90 days.
The vessel that washed up in Libya. Inset: Arms dealer James Fenech.The vessels were contracted on a purely ‘bare boat’ charter basis, meaning no crew and the RIHBS were to be used only for evacuation purposes, the company said.
"Crucially, the two vessels left Malta carrying all the necessary permits both from Malta Customs as well as from the Police Immigration unit,” the statement reads.
Upon arrival in Malta, all 21 of the client’s evacuated management and personnel - mostly holding British, French, American, Australian and South African passports - were admitted according to all applicable Maltese laws and procedures, Sovereign contends.
"We flatly and categorically deny all the allegations that this charter was in any way connected to money laundering or military purposes. We shall look forward to clear our names and our company’s under oath in court,” the company said.
Interest in Fenech’s chartering activities began when a mysterious Malta-registered boat found in the harbour or Zwetina, Libya, some 150 kilometres south of Benghazi, last August had raised suspicion that it was being used to sneak people in and out of the country, prompting the Libyan authorities to launch an investigation.