Montenegro’s parliament has voted to form an inquiry committee that will investigate the Enemalta wind farm project.

According to a statement by the Daphne Caruana Galizia foundation, Branka Bošnjak, the vice-president of the assembly said the investigation is motivated by “the fact that this is a major international corruption scandal”.

The Montenegro wind farm project has been mired in controversy ever since an Enemalta internal audit found due diligence omissions and a lack of professionalism in the deal.

Enemalta's probe also raised concerns about a €6.8 million under-declaration of the sale price and flagged “serious reservations” about a clause in the share sale contract.

In 2020, Times of Malta and Reuters revealed how 17 Black owner and murder suspect Yorgen Fenech walked away from the deal with a €4.6 million profit after secretly financing an intermediary used to sell the wind farm project shares to Enemalta. 

Prime Minister Robert Abela had called for a full investigation into the revelations.

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, accompanied by former minister Konrad Mizzi had travelled to Montenegro to inaugurate the completed wind farm project in November 2019.

File photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi of Konrad Mizzi (left) and Joseph Muscat (right) meeting Montenegro PM Milo Djukanovic.

Following Montenegro's vote on Thursday, Bošnjak said “the government of Montenegro and other competent authorities did not take measures, actions and activities that according to the Constitution and the law were obliged to be undertaken in the protection of state property.

"On the contrary, it is suspected that they were part of this corrupt business.”

According to the foundation, the deadline for conducting the inquiry is 120 days from the day the decision on the parliamentary inquiry enters into force.