One of the key witnesses in the Dalligate case, Gayle Kimberley, told police that she had been blackmailed over what to say in court, Inspector Angelo Gafà revealed during his testimony.

Dr Kimberley, who was head of EU and International Affairs at the Lotteries and Gaming Authority while she represented Swedish Match in meetings with Mr Dalli, would not give further information.

But police understood this blackmail to centre around an affair she had with a colleague, Iosif Galea, a compliance officer at the authority.

The relationship is relevant as Mr Galea not only admitted to being Mr Zammit’s collaborator but also to betraying Dr Kimberley’s trust to alert him about Olaf’s investigation. Dr Kimberley was the first person to be interviewed by OLAF, at a hotel where she was staying in Portugal on work in June. She was accompanied by Mr Galea, who was not on official business. The investigators warned her not to tell anyone about the investigation.

She discussed the matter with Mr Galea and warned him not to tell Mr Zammit.

Mr Galea admitted calling Mr Zammit from Portugal then meeting him shortly after the couple returned to Malta. The connection between the three and the Dalligate saga goes back to 2011, when Mr Zammit first met snus lobby representatives in Stockholm.

Mr Zammit, Inge Delfosse from ESTOC and Rupini Bergstrom from Swedish Match discussed the restaurateur’s interest in importing snus. They explained this was illegal in the EU, apart from in Sweden. Mr Zammit bragged about his connections with Mr Dalli and even called him to discuss the ban briefly.

After that Mr Zammit called Dr Kimberley and Mr Galea, then proposed to Swedish Match that Dr Kimberley act as their consultant in Malta.

The firm asked for a proposal and after two months she made one asking for €5,000 for preparing a case to put to Mr Dalli on liberalising snus.

Dr Kimberly and Mr Galea had shared e-mail addresses and Facebook password, the inspector testified. Through this, Mr Galea accessed a document listing details of a meeting with Mr Dalli that Dr Kimberley sent to OLAF, and told Mr Zammit.

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