An aide of former European Commissioner John Dalli never confirmed or denied to the police that Dalli was involved in a multimillion-euro attempted bribe to lift an EU ban on smokeless tobacco, former police commissioner John Rizzo told a court on Wednesday.

He would never give a yes or a no, Rizzo said with reference to police questioning of the late Silvio Zammit, who was Dalli's aide for several years.

Rizzo was testifying in proceedings against Dalli who is pleading not guilty to trading in influence concerning an alleged €60 million bribe that Zammit had allegedly solicited to help lift the EU-wide ban on snus.

Rizzo said he had questioned Zammit and repeatedly asked him to “spare” Dalli from the tangle if he knew that he had nothing to do with the matter.

But Zammit never said that Dalli was involved nor that he was not, insisting in his police statements that he had named “all those who were somehow involved.”

That included Dalli.

Rizzo gave a detailed timeline of police investigations while he was police commissioner.

He said it had all started in October 2012 when he was asked by the Attorney General to handle investigations into a case forwarded by OLAF (the EU anti-fraud body) concerning alleged bribery by a number of individuals.

Dalli’s name cropped up.

Despite the OLAF investigation, the Malta police started afresh, speaking to all those involved including John Dalli, Zammit, lawyer Gayle Kimberley, who was a lawyer and former lobbyist for tobacco company Swedish Match, other representatives of that company and OLAF investigators.

Evidence indicated that it all started from a 2010 meeting which [Tomas] Hammargren, chairman of ESTOC (the European Smokeless Tobacco lobby) had requested with Dalli.

That meeting was arranged by Zammit and was held at the Kempinski Hotel in Gozo where Dalli was on vacation.

It was an “informal but organized meeting” of the kind that was not supposed to take place, said Rizzo, explaining that then EU Commission President Barroso had issued instructions that any meetings by commissioners were to be conducted through proper channels.

Dalli later told police that he did not know who he was speaking to during that meeting.

But Zammit gave a totally different view, saying that he had prepared Dalli for that meeting.

“Everyone knew who he was talking to and even business cards were exchanged,” Rizzo continued.

His testimony was interrupted by defence lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell who pointed out that not only was Zammit an inadmissible witness, in view of criminal charges in his regard, but he was now dead and could not be cross-examined.

“Rizzo is saying that he believed Zammit but elsewhere he did not and, rather, pressed charges against him. Zammit died while still awaiting the outcome of those proceedings,” remarked the lawyer.

Presiding Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo directed the witness to limit himself to what he personally attested in the investigations.

Rizzo said that during the meeting in Gozo, questions were asked about smokeless tobacco.

Later, Zammit and a third party travelled to Stockholm where he met Inge Del Fosse who had succeeded Hammargren.

Over lunch, Zammit bragged about his “friendship” with the Dalli and even tried to impress his table companions by trying to call Dalli.

“But it appears that he did not succeed,” said Rizzo.

Calls between Dalli, Zammit and Kimberley as well as Gaming Authority official, Iosif Galea, who was another friend of Zammit, followed practically every meeting and the call logs were there “black on white.”

Following that lunch meeting in Stockholm, Zammit emailed Del Fosse saying that he had handed material on smokeless tobacco to Dalli, who was “today better informed on the subject.”

That was when Swedish Match entered the scene.

They contacted Kimberley, offering her a €5000 consultancy with the main aim being to set up contact with Dalli.

Through her acquaintance, she was introduced to Zammit who, in turn, proved to be the link to Dalli.

A meeting was held at Dalli’s Portomaso offices in January 2012, Rizzo said.

Kimberley exited that meeting “satisfied,” describing it as a very cordial encounter with Dalli who, though against smokeless tobacco, was ready to listen to scientific evidence.

“If anyone could amend the law it was Dalli,” Kimberley had remarked.

However, a second meeting scheduled with Dalli was first rescheduled and then cancelled at the eleventh hour, with Zammit informing Kimberley that Dalli did not wish to speak to her personally any further.

She was to forward any communication to him in writing via Zammit.

That was when Kimberley formulated five questions in a note titled “Meeting with the (European) Commissioner.”

Zammit called her and set up a meeting at his own Peppi’s Kiosk in Sliema in February.

There he handed her Dalli's answers to her queries, all written in Zammit’s own handwriting but too technical to be attributed to him.

'Six-zero figure'

Every proposal to lift the ban on smokeless tobacco was to be made “against a price,” Zammit had said, mentioning a “six zero figure.”

Kimberley reported back to her boss at Swedish Match but was “too embarrassed” to tell him that Dalli had not met her.

That was when Johan Gabrielsson, her superior at the Swedish company, travelled to Malta for a meeting with Zammit who elaborated on the asking price dropping the “€60 million” sum.

A few days later, Gabrielsson told Kimberly to stop communicating with Zammit.

Rizzo said that Zammit had also contacted Del Fosse offering to carry out consultancy work for ESTOC, also setting up meetings with Dalli.

That interested Del Fosse.

But Zammit next told her that a meeting could be organized “at a price.”

When she questioned that, Zammit hung up, saying that he would “get back.”

When he did, it was to tell her that his “boss" was ready to meet with [her] boss anywhere in the world…..but at a price of 10 million.

In his conversations, Zammit referred to Dalli as his “boss,” or “John” or “Dalli” or “the Commissioner,” said Rizzo, saying that his evidence was also backed by recorded calls and transcripts.

Del Fosse referred to her superiors who stopped her from further communication with Zammit.

When questioned by OLAF, Dalli “categorically denied’ knowledge of any investigation.

But it transpired that his “very close friend” Zammit had immediately called him to let him know that he had been interrogated by OLAF.

When taking that call, Dalli had been dining with Barroso in Cyprus.

Yet he did not mention anything.

“He should have if he wished to prove his innocence,” said Rizzo.

Discrepancies in statements by Dalli

When Dalli himself was questioned, discrepancies emerged between his statements to OLAF and those to the police in Malta.

He had told OLAF that he absolutely did not know about the investigation but admitted to police that Zammit had informed him.

He had also tried to downplay the importance of that meeting at the Kempinski, saying that he did not know who he was speaking to but later admitting that business cards were exchanged.

Dalli also threatened to take legal action against the person who had implicated him in all this.

Yet to date, only a legal letter had materialised.

Moreover, he and Zammit had subsequently exchanged calls and met at a meeting with “Mr Refalo.”

Asked by Tonna Lowell whether police had been informed of Dalli's [diplomatic] immunity, Rizzo said that the AG was constantly updated but had never drawn their attention to that.

Investigators appeared to have based themselves mainly on statements obtained through interrogation.

“Dalli had lied to OLAF when he said that he did not know about the investigation,” said Rizzo.

Tonna Lowell promptly rebutted that claim, saying that Zammit at no point had told police that Dalli was involved.

But Rizzo clarified that although he had repeatedly asked Zammit to spare Dalli if he knew that he was not involved, Zammit never said Dalli was or was not.

Rather he insisted that he had mentioned “all those involved.”

The case continues.

AG Lawyer Antoine Agius Bonnici prosecuted.

Lawyers Stefano Filletti and Stephen Tonna Lowell were defence counsel.