Only 25 people have been taken to court to face charges connected with last year’s electricity theft scandal despite there being 600 outstanding cases.

A significant number of those charged were Enemalta employees accused of accepting bribes to modify the supposedly tamperproof smart meters in a way that would record less electricity than consumed.

When the scandal broke at this time last year, Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi said that about 1,000 meters were found to have been tampered with.

The government took the controversial decision to offer an amnesty. A total of 428 consumers applied to benefit.

The police said investigations are ongoing, acknowledging that 25 of the remaining 600 clients, suspected of defrauding the energy provider, had been charged. These included three Enemalta employees and a customer who pleaded guilty.

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