Forensic analysis of the Nexia BT and Pilatus Bank IT equipment revealed the existence of what was probably a USB drive, containing potential information about Secret Panama company Egrant.
However, its contents are unknown as these files were not copied on the laptop to which this external memory device had been attached. Forensic investigators commissioned as part of the Egrant magisterial inquiry were only able to trace what is known as a small system file which indicated that such memory device contained a subfolder called Egrant.
It does raise the possibility that there were digital files in relation to Egrant which were not held on or copied onto the digital devices seized - Egrant report
The existence of this USB drive came to light following the publication of the 1,500-page Egrant inquiry report last Monday by Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia, terminating a saga which had started in 2018 when the government had only published the main conclusions.
Dr Delia had taken the government to court to demand a full copy. The case came to an end last Monday when a court ordered the Attorney General to hand over a copy to Dr Delia.
The report says that forensic experts from Harbinson Mulholland and Harbinsons Forensics concluded that “there was no further evidence to show what this folder contained to identify the memory device”.
They also remarked that “it does raise the possibility that there were digital files in relation to Egrant which were not held on or copied onto the digital devices seized”.
The forensic experts noted that the whereabouts of this external memory device were unknown.
Huge amounts of digital evidence analysed
The report says that the data analysis of 30 terabytes (memory units) of digital evidence posed a mammoth task. Each terabyte represents around 250 million pages of documents. Investigators remarked that, in total, the digital evidence would “fill several Empire State buildings” if one had to print all the files.
Some Pilatus Bank emails missing
The investigators remarked that not all Pilatus Bank emails were handed over for analysis. Correspondence stored on the cloud (on the internet rather than on a standard memory device) was not made available. Emails exchanged between senior Pilatus Bank officials were also not made available.
The report says that in their quest to find who owned Egrant, investigators widened the search to include documents related to other secret Panama companies – Tillgate owned by Keith Schembri and Hearnville owned by Konrad Mizzi.
No Egrant links to the prime minister but concerns flagged
While finding no evidence that Egrant belonged to the prime minister or his wife as alleged by Daphne Caruana Galizia, investigators flagged a number of issues which they said raised concerns.
Apart from the missing Pilatus Bank emails, investigators could not trace the email in which Karl Cini from Nexia BT specifically requested the acquisition of the three Panama companies. This raised the possibility that such instruction was tendered verbally to Mossack Fonseca employees.
Payment of Egrant fees raises doubts
Invoices showed that Nexia BT paid US$6,439.04 in Egrant fees from the moment it was acquired to when it was dissolved in 2017. This issue was of relevance in view of the fact that there was documented evidence showing that Nexia would only pay fees to Mossack Fonseca after the clients paid up.
“This makes it very unlikely that Nexia would have borne the cost of acquiring and maintaining the three Panama companies, Tillgate, Hearnville and Egrant, for a period of nearly two years without being reimbursed by the clients who requested these companies in the first instance. Yet that is what Nexia have stated in their testimony to be the case,” the report says.
Schembri and Mizzi 'not normal' Nexia BT clients
The investigators said they were not able to establish from their data searches whether Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri paid for the costs of Hearnville and Tillgate in the period from 2013, when they were incorporated, to June 2015 when they took over as shareholders of these companies.
“It may be that because of the very close relationship Brian Tonna and Karl Cini have with these individuals they are no longer regarded as normal clients and their financial dealings are handled differently than those of the general Nexia BT client base,” the report says.
Egrant purchase handled differently by Nexia BT
The report also points out that while the owners for Tillgate and Heanville were known, it was not known if Egrant was purchased with any specific client in mind.
“In our opinion, it does not fit in with the way Nexia BT operated its business for it to pay for and hold on to these companies unless they had already been allocated to a client, and those costs could be recouped”.
Questions were also raised on why Karl Cini chose to specifically purchase Egrant on July 31, 2013 in the wake of the fact the Mossack Fonseca create a constant stream of readily available shelf companies which could be provided at short notice.
“It seems to us that he must have had a client in mind when doing this. Why not make an arrangement for Nexia BT to have a number of shelf companies available on request?”
Gaps in correspondence on Egrant
It was also pointed out that there seemed to be “gaps” in the email trail, suggesting that some of the communication between Mossack Fonseca and Nexia BT were made in person at meetings, by telephone, by Skype or some other means rather than email.
17 Black and Macbridge crop up
The report also makes reference to Dubai-registered companies 17 Black and Macbridge saying these were “target clients” for Mr Schembri’s and Dr Mizzi’s secret Panama companies. Investigators noted that in spite of information saying that these two Panama companies had not yet started trading, 17 Black and Macbridge were listed as their “target clients” which would generate around US$2 million per year. However, there was no further mention of these two Dubai companies.
Months after the compilation of this report, it transpired that 17 Black belonged to businessman Yorgen Fenech who is now being prosecuted over complicity in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder.