John Dalli’s lawyers on Wednesday flagged a recent conviction against former OLAF chief Giovanni Kessler who triggered investigations and bribery-related charges against the former EU commissioner, leading to his political downfall.
Dalli returned to court for another sitting in proceedings where he is pleading not guilty to trading in influence and attempted bribery concerning a €60 million bribe involving his former aide Silvio Zammit.
That sum was allegedly solicited by Zammit - who has since passed away - to help lift an EU-wide ban on snus, the smokeless tobacco that is only marketed in Sweden.
Wednesday’s hearing was a very brief one, during which Inspector Andy Rotin was summoned to produce call data from service providers.
However, as the hearing neared its end, defence lawyer Stephen Tonna Lowell drew the court’s attention to a recent decision by a French-speaking Tribunal of First Instance in Brussels delivered on September 15.
That tribunal concluded that Kessler had breached Belgian law when, as OLAF chief, he had authorised the recording of a telephone conversation between one of Dalli’s canvassers and a tobacco lobbyist.
According to Belgian law, it is illegal for a public officer to record a person’s private communication without his consent, save for those instances provided by law.
Kessler led the anti-fraud office OLAF at the time and continued to serve as its director-general until 2017.
He subsequently drew up a report alleging that Dalli, then EU Health Commissioner, held improper meetings with tobacco lobbyists and linked that to one of his close aides, Zammit, soliciting the multi-million bribe.
Tonna Lowell explained that the defence had obtained a Google-translated version of that tribunal decision against Kessler.
Citing a part of that text, the lawyer said that the tribunal had handed Kessler a suspended sentence after taking into consideration his age and not because that was the sentence he deserved.
The tribunal observed that Kessler’s attitude showed “a lack of respect towards the authorities and the office he held”.
“This court must be made aware of this character,” said the lawyer, pointing out that the EU Commission had “protected” Kessler so much that it only partly lifted his immunity over a “small part of the investigations”.
And that “small part” concerned his investigation on Dalli, said Tonna Lowell.
The case continues.
AG lawyer Antoine Agius Bonnici also prosecuted. Lawyers Stefano Filletti and Stephen Tonna Lowell are defence counsel.