The Nationalist Party’s candidates’ commission has performed, what in my opinion is, a highly professional due diligence exercise and published a diligent professional report on the two contenders for the post of PN leader. This involved careful investigation of the economic, legal, fiscal and financial circumstances of Adrian Delia and Bernard Grech.

For the uninitiated, proper due diligence involves knowing what questions to ask, knowing what tools are required, knowing whom to ask for corroboration, knowing how to test answers, and knowing how to verify and analyse the information gathered. This also covers possible links with forms of economic crime such as corruption and tax evasion.

It was a long and complicated process, which, in this particular case, was further hampered and rendered more complicated by the limitations on scope and specifically on “access to information” as covered on pages five and six of the report.

The experts had no access to information other than documents and data provided by the organs within the PN, and those provided by the contenders themselves. They lacked resources to engage other professionals to independently double-check the veracity of certain claims or to employ research assistants to go through additional data that could have been requested, had this been an option.

Coupled with the lack of resources, the time element was a major constraint and the panel had no other option but to limit the due diligence exercise to what it considered as being absolutely essential.

These limitations are crucial in understanding the nature of the “conclusions”, and need to be considered by the PN in future amendments to its statutes.

Both contenders have issues to address, however Adrian Delia has more baggage and skeletons in his cupboard than Bernard Grech.

My overall assessment is that Adrian Delia is high risk and Bernard Grech is low risk- Godgrey Leone Ganado

Delia’s are complex and multifaceted problems, while Grech’s were less complex and included some ‘housekeeping’ glitches, which were sorted out by him albeit they could have all been sorted out much earlier, particularly the fiscal issue. In fact, Grech paid his outstanding fiscal dues and gave up his right to contest what he considered unjust assessments compounded by fines and interest.

One issue that has, in my opinion, surfaced for the first time in regards to Adrian Delia, is mentioned on page 22 of the report – “most of the companies he was involved in, by virtue of this profession, have been liquidated, and it was not possible to determine the reasons and manner in which they were liquidated”. This would have been particularly relevant in the context of 10 seemingly interlinked companies where the exact nature of the relationship and professional independence required further clarification.

There is also the matter of the offshore bank account in Jersey and the alleged FIAU investigation, which could involve possible money laundering, involvement in a lawsuit relating to the irregular use of clients’ money in relation to a “success fee” demanded by Delia for negotiating a loan with a bank for a client, and the messages exchanged with Yorgen Fenech which the committee found to be worrying and that showed a great lack of judgement by Delia.

My overall assessment is that Delia is high risk and Grech is low risk.

Personally, in the circumstances, while declaring my preference for Bernard Grech even though I never knew him personally until recently, I would surely not opt for a person like Delia as leader of the PN with all the many questionable circumstances hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles.

I would like to conclude by challenging everyone, and more so the tesserati, with a question which everyone, unknowingly, at some time or other addresses to oneself: “If I have to engage someone to work for me at home or in the office/business, would I go for someone with questionable circumstances which may take a long time to be sorted out, (if ever they do get sorted out), or someone with known shortcomings which have been rectified?”

Godfrey Leone Ganado is a retired partner of one of the top audit/accountancy firms.