Mario Camilleri, the man who brokered the Café Premier deal, denies giving money to the Labour Party, saying, instead, that he made a donation to the Nationalist Party.

Flatly denying that the €4.2 million Café Premier bailout was the result of a pre-electoral deal with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Mr Camilleri yesterday insisted “nobody ever had as much as a coffee” off him as a result of this agreement.

Speaking after the publication of the National Audit Office’s damning report on the government’s buy-back decision, he told Times of Malta the controversy had made him look like a criminal.

“I never gave or was asked to give a penny to the Labour Party, either as Mario Camilleri or through my family companies,” he emphasised.

I am a million per cent at peace with my conscience. If I had anything on my conscience I wouldn’t be talking to you

Mr Camilleri said the only donation he made was to the PN before the election. “I wrote them a cheque, which I believe was for €1,000, and presented it to [then Prime Minister] Lawrence Gonzi and [then PN general secretary] Paul Borg Olivier.”

He also denied donating money or helping any Labour Party candidate. “The only candidate I gave a donation to was Francis Zammit Dimech for the MEP election last year – for €1,000.”

Operated by Cities Entertainment, co-owned by Mr Camilleri and Neville Curmi, Café Premier closed its doors a day before the general election in March 2013.

The business was facing financial difficulties, racking up thousands of euros in debt, including outstanding income tax and lease payments. The company also had an outstanding loan of €2 million with Banif Bank.

The business partners had fallen out with each other and were trying to find buyers for the remaining 50-year lease to the prime site property in Valletta.

Mr Camilleri would not enter into the merits of the fallout with Mr Curmi, but said that in the year preceding the election he had approached the previous administration with a similar offer to buy back the property.

Inside the now closed Café Premier.

Party donations and conscience

“Through an acquaintance I was put in touch with [then Tourism Minister] Mario de Marco, but the answer was that it was too close to the election. I had told my business partner that if there was a new government I would approach it as well, but Neville Curmi was wary of Joseph Muscat.”

Mr Camilleri says it was because of Mr Curmi’s alleged wariness of Dr Muscat that he decided to initiate negotiations with the Labour government without informing his business partner.

Asked about his relationship with the Prime Minister, Mr Camilleri admitted meeting Dr Muscat three times in the years before the election, insisting Café Premier was never discussed. Dr Muscat has admitted meeting Mr Camilleri twice.

I am not Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s buddy

The first encounter, Mr Camilleri said, was a formal meeting at the Labour Party headquarters some time after Dr Muscat became leader.

“It was a short meeting, maybe 10 minutes at most, where we established contact. The meeting was arranged by an employee at Maltco [the lotteries company in which Mr Camilleri is a shareholder], who encouraged me to get to know Joseph Muscat.”

Cities Entertainment co-owner Mario Camilleri. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

He said the second meeting was a brief exchange of greetings when the two met at a wedding in Villa Parisio. “Prime Minister [Joseph] Muscat [then still Opposition leader] asked about my health and that was it.”

The third meeting was a formal encounter at the Labour headquarters arranged by Labour MP Joe Sammut. Mr Camilleri got to know Dr Sammut because he regularly visited the Premier for coffee.

“During this meeting we touched upon concerns I had over the renewal of the lotteries licence for Maltco [which was happening between 2011 and 2012] but it was a brief meeting,” Mr Camilleri said.

Mr Camilleri said the Café Premier deal was only discussed after the election in a face-to-face meeting at Auberge de Castille after he e-mailed the Prime Minister. “I am not Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s buddy.”

He also denied knowing Keith Schembri, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, who was present for the meetings at Castille.

“I never knew who he was and although he was present during the meetings I can’t remember his face,” Mr Camilleri said.

And what about architect John Sciberras, who was the Prime Minister’s adviser leading the negotiations?

Mr Camilleri admitted getting a fright when he realised Mr Sciberras was going to be the interlocutor because of a past incident. “Some years back, when Mr Sciberras was still heading the Land Department, my partner and I went to meet him without an appointment.

“He chided us for doing so and this left us with a bitter taste. Whenever I used to see him walk past the Premier he never engaged with us. He proved to be a good negotiator and always pulled the government’s strings.”

The NAO report was particularly critical of the fact that the €4.2 million deal included a brokerage fee of €210,000, which was paid to Mr Camilleri out of public funds.

Mr Camilleri told the Auditor General this was repayment of a shareholder’s loan. But the NAO report included a board resolution of Cities Entertainment explicitly referring to the €210,000 as a brokerage fee paid to M & A Investments, Mr Camilleri’s company.

The NAO also pointed out that what had to be government’s final offer at €3.97m eventually increased to €4.2m after Mr Camilleri disagreed. The increase was equivalent to Mr Camilleri’s brokerage fee.

Confronted by these facts, Mr Camilleri yesterday insisted it was coincidental that the increase was equivalent to what he continued to describe as repayment of a shareholder’s loan (see box on opposite page).

“I went to the NAO without a lawyer because I feel the truth does not need lawyers.”

Mr Camilleri said it was Mr Curmi who brought in entrepreneur Anġlu Xuereb as a potential buyer, adding he had no objection to this.

I went to the NAO without a lawyer because I feel the truth does not need lawyers

“My concern with Anġlu Xuereb’s proposal was that it was not clear how small-time creditors were going to be paid. I did not want to end up in a situation having creditors come knocking on my door because they were not paid.”

He noted that the deal with Mr Xuereb also depended on Banif Bank agreeing to it. And while professing his respect for Mr Xuereb, Mr Camilleri said in his “conscience” it was better to sell the property back to the government.

Why?

Mr Camilleri said he always harboured concerns about the presence of a kitchen at Café Premier, which was located beneath the National Library.

He said the kitchen worked solely with electricity, avoiding the risk of a gas explosion, but this did not eliminate the risk of fire.

Ironically, one of the reasons spelt out in the Cabinet memo justifying government’s decision to buy back the property was the removal of danger posed by gas cylinders. Mr Camilleri has confirmed gas cylinders were never used.

“My concern was always the library above and the precious treasures it holds. God forbid something ever happened to it,” he said.

Asked about his attempt to buy out his business partner while negotiations were under way with the government, Mr Camilleri said he did this in an attempt to keep the Café Premier within his family.

“I had plans to transform the Premier into a wedding hall with offsite catering to remove the kitchen from the place.

“The site has potential and value because it is the only location in Valletta that can cater for 200 to 300 guests. The catering would have been done at our wedding hall in Buskett [Villa Oriana] and transported there.”

Mr Camilleri said the attempt failed and the partners opted for the government offer.

Did he have a clear conscience?

“I am a million per cent at peace with my conscience. If I had anything on my conscience I wouldn’t be talking to you.”

Mario Camilleri on the commission

Who did you share the commission with?

No one... I don’t know why you keep asking me this question.

Explain how government’s supposedly final offer increased by the amount of the commission after you requested, and were granted, a meeting with the Prime Minister?

Mine was a business move to do what is doable to get rid of all the debts. My negotiating point was that government was clawing back €500,000 in capital gains tax out of the deal because we were selling the property not the company. I cannot explain the coincidence but if I had anything to hide would I have included this amount [€210,000] in the list of payments due for inclusion in the contract?

The NAO describes the €210,000 as a brokerage fee, a commission.

The money was to pay the shareholder’s loan that was due to me and I insisted it be paid immediately on contract because I did not trust my business partner, who was running the accounts.

What about the board resolution of Cities Entertainment that describes it as a brokerage fee paid to your company?

The board resolution for Cities Entertainment was presented to me by my business partner just before we signed the government contract.

Did you share the commission with anyone?

No, absolutely not. I’ll say that again on the Bible like I already did while testifying at the NAO... I paid no one commission and nobody asked for any. Everything I do, I do above board. That is how I conduct my business.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com