The chairman of a body tasked with reviewing public contracts has resigned after concerns were raised about him featuring in an investigation into a major fuel smuggling ring.
Multiple sources confirmed that Anthony Cassar, who heads the Public Contracts Review Board, handed in his letter of resignation this week to Finance Minister Clyde Caruana.
He is to be replaced by employment and industrial relations lawyer Ian Spiteri Bailey.
Contacted on Saturday, Cassar confirmed he had been questioned by police but strongly denied any wrongdoing.
The three-member PCRB is a form of tribunal which acts as an appeals board on public procurement issues. It hears complaints submitted about any public supply, service or works contract. It has the power to order a contract to be revised or scrapped entirely.
Although Cassar’s resignation letter cites “personal reasons” as the cause of his departure, government sources told Times of Malta he had been personally pressured to step down by the Office of the Prime Minister in recent days.
It is quite ordinary for professionals to be summoned to court or spoken to by police in such investigations
Sources said Cassar, an auditor, had a “professional relationship” with members of an organised crime group headed by former international footballer, turned alleged fuel smuggler, Darren Debono. This professional closeness was flagged as potentially problematic by law enforcement in recent weeks, sources said.
It is understood that Cassar featured in an ongoing investigation into fuel smuggling being conducted by a specially set-up task force, which includes national security officials, the police, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, and the Sanctions Monitoring Board.
Cassar confirmed he had recently been spoken to by police officers investigating the fuel smuggling ring, however he insisted his resignation had nothing to do with it.
“I resigned because I am 73 years old and plan on retiring from everything,” he said, adding that he had not been asked to resign by any government officials.
Cassar said he had never met either Darren or Gordon Debono but said he had been spoken to by police “about certain companies” that he may have provided professional services for.
“It is quite ordinary for professionals to be summoned to court or spoken to by police in such investigations,” he said.
Back in November, Times of Malta had exposed how Debono and a number of his associates had been targeted by law enforcement officials in an anti-smuggling bust.
Debono was charged with a slew of offences in a late-night arraignment that was kept under wraps. His associate, fuel trader Gordon Debono was charged separately, along with his wife Yvette and employee Shawn Higgins over money laundering breaches days later.
In 2019, Malta had sought to enforce UN sanctions against Gordon Debono and Darren Debono, along with their business partner, Libyan national Fahmi Bin Khalifa.
The sanctions, which were vetoed at the UN security council, would have made it next to impossible for the three to hide money from authorities in other jurisdictions. Most of their assets are believed to be hidden in tax havens outside the EU.
The two Debonos (no relation) were both arrested in Italy back in 2017. They are suspected of forming part of a multimillion-euro international fuel smuggling conspiracy with ties to the Italian mafia and Libyan armed groups.