A year after being alerted by the anti-corruption watchdog of bribery claims against former Labour Party general secretary Jimmy Magro, the police have yet to press charges, saying they need stronger evidence.
The case goes back to last February, when the Permanent Commission Against Corruption said it was “morally convinced” that Mr Magro had requested kickbacks in return for awarding a tender.
The contract, issued in the summer of 2014 by the Local Councils Association, was for the procurement of waste management equipment. At the time, Mr Magro was the association’s adviser on tendering processes.
Mr Magro was appointed in 2013 by the government on a position-of-trust basis.
He served as Labour general secretary between 1991 and 2003 and LCA executive secretary between 2007 and 2013.
In its report, the anti-corruption commission said Mr Magro had requested a €25,000 cut from one of the bidders in return for securing the contract. Mr Magro, who denies any wrongdoing, allegedly said part of the money would pay the costs of a holiday in Alsace, France, and a pending €5,000 tax bill.
Police cannot merely base their conclusions on the report by the commission
The commission, headed by Judge Lawrence Quintano, concluded that this was “a case of corruption or an attempt at corruption” by a public officer, which should ultimately be decided by a court.
Although no bribes were paid to him, the commission declared it was “morally convinced” he had requested kickbacks.
Mr Magro was subsequently relieved of his duties and suspended from the job on half-pay. The commission’s report was handed over to the police for further investigations, but nothing was heard since, and last week, the Times of Malta asked the police what stage their investigation had reached.
They said it was “very active”, adding they were awaiting replies from foreign jurisdictions before proceeding to interrogate the main subjects in the case.
Decisions on whether the evidence collected was enough to press charges would be taken once such replies were in hand, the police said.
The police also pointed out that the level of proof the police had to reach in an investigation before proceeding to criminal prosecution was “higher” than that which the Permanent Commission against Corruption was obliged to obtain.
“The police cannot merely base their conclusions on the report by the commission but have to carry out additional investigations as obliged by law,” they said.
The delay fuelled criticism that the investigation had been put on the back-burner and that the police could be experiencing cold feet to probe people close or directly linked to the government.
Such concerns were raised by a European Parliament delegation that visited Malta late last year in the wake of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder.
In their conclusions, the MEPs noted that it was of particular concern that no police investigation was ever started on suspicions of corruption and money laundering by Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, who, they said, by being kept in office, could be continuing their alleged criminal activity.