Handle with caution

I am the former executive editor at Malta Today and a participant of the meeting in which alleged fuel smuggler Darren Debono – as told to Times of Malta (‘Keith Schembri framed me...’, March 19) – claims that Saviour Balzan stated that he “found it hard to take his word over that of Keith Schembri” (my paraphrasing).

We have publicly denied this claim: it is an allegation ‘paraphrased’ by Debono in the form of indirect speech that was denied publicly by myself and Balzan, who were part of this meeting.

I, for one, have been threatened in the discharge of my duties as a journalist by Debono – prior to this unsolicited meeting – who had suggestively sent me a photo of my daughter by WhatsApp and told me “family is precious”; as well as having been intercepted twice by his associate and family member (both of them facing charges of money laundering) in unsolicited advances despite my repeated requests to them and Debono’s lawyer not to importune me. I have publicly written about this.

It is important that Times of Malta, with whom Malta Today has collaborated in full spirit of collegiality in the past, only handles with caution the word of a man accused of fuel smuggling in Italy as well as money laundering in Malta, whose intention is to undermine the integrity of Malta Today’s owner as well as mine and to further the chilling effects of the aforementioned threats.

It was Balzan himself who testified in the Daphne Caruana Galizia inquiry that Castille sought to frame Debono, yet, it is untrue that Malta Today ever entertained that line (indeed, to be a stickler for precision, it was Times of Malta which first suggested that line back in October 2017 and then as part of its judicious reporting on the assassination and through no ulterior agenda).

Indeed, readers should know that in this meeting Balzan told Debono – repeatedly – that he would not act as a messenger for anyone; and point-blank told Debono, who at that time was under pressure from American OFAC sanctions, to reveal what he knew of alleged phone-calls from Castille to shippers carrying oil to carry out a secret refuelling of a Russian warship. This was in fact reported by Malta Today numerous times in its ongoing chain of articles on fuel smuggling.

MATTHEW VELLA - San Ġwann

Abela’s dilemma

Robert Abela had been turning hot and cold in respect of Steward and its reaction to the court judgment in the case instituted against the government, Vitals, Steward and others. All agreements were annulled because they were vitiated by fraud and potentially criminal actions.

First Abela accepted the judgment by not appealing. Then he declared that he wanted to recover those funds which were paid out but for which the investments and services promised were not delivered. To do so he would need to sue Steward, the present owner of Vitals and the concession of the hospitals. A day later he praised Steward for its services indicating that, instead of suing, he would order an investigation into its accounts.

Steward declared it would be leaving Malta even before the government’s termination letter. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

On Tuesday, he suddenly issued a termination letter taking the hospitals back, effectively admitting the court was right.

Steward won’t take this lying down and has appealed.

All the sordid details of the Vitals deal which are in the possession of Steward when it took over the shares of the company will come out. Steward will tell the court where, before they took over, the payments of the Maltese government were sent to and where they were subsequently transferred and to whom and to which companies local or foreign all payments were made.

This certainly frightens a lot of persons involved in the hospitals deal.

Steward cannot have its reputation tarnished because of Vitals and the Muscat government’s questionable actions.

As a US corporation they are governed by very strict rules concerning bribing and corruption in foreign business activities. They will fight hand, tooth and nail to prove that they are an innocent party and blaming Vitals and the Maltese government.

Steward declared it would be leaving Malta even before the termination letter. It is having the upper hand in dealings with a cornered prime minister. He may huff and he may puff but, since his opponent holds all the cards and Abela knows that, it will be in vain.

Abela, as a former legal adviser to Muscat’s cabinet when this deal was entered into, knows as much as Steward does what actually transpired. He just cannot let the cat out of the bag, hence his dilemma.

Any action like taking over control leaves him in a dilemma. Does he sue for the funds and the whole truth about the corrupt deal will come out? Heads will roll, maybe even his. Or he does nothing.

He believes the electorate can be bought and can be made to forget this stain on Malta’s reputation. I believe he may be wrong. The temptation of the opposition to press their case on the other questionable deals like Electrogas, Montenegro wind farms, electricity billing scandal and others is great.

When the facts on these cases will be made public by the public inquiries or by the courts there will be more public anger. Is Vitals the ultimate dilemma that he will be unable to disentangle himself from?

JOHN VASSALLO – St Julian’s