A vessel chartering company whose owner stands accused of breaching EU sanctions against Libya had obtained all necessary permits save for authorisation from the Sanctions Monitoring Board, a court was told on Tuesday.
The company, owned by James Fenech, leased two military-grade inflatable boats allegedly to evacuate workers from an oil and gas company in war-torn Libya.
The case came under increased scrutiny on Monday after The New York Times reported that the men were not really oil workers but mercenaries engaged in a military operation commissioned by renegade General Haftar as part of his efforts to take over Tripoli. Their operation was meant to intercept a shipment of weapons destined for Haftar’s military rivals but it failed and the mercenaries were evacuated to Malta.
Fenech, sole director of Sovereign Charterers Limited, was in court on Tuesday, alongside four of his employees, Bertrand Agius, Konrad Agius, Charles Bugeja and Michael Cauchi. They are facing charges of having allegedly breached an EU Council Regulation prohibiting the sale, supply, transfer or export of equipment “to any person, entity or body in Libya or for use in Libya” which might be used for “internal repression”.
Prosecuting inspector Omar Zammit testified how investigations by the anti-terrorist squad kicked off in July 2019 after Manta-I, one of the two Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats, arrived in Malta with 20 persons on board.
These were not the usual boatload of migrants but were evidently trained personnel with South African, English, Australian and American passports, Zammit said.
The men had told police they had been tasked by their employer, Opus Capital, to carry out geological surveys in Libya and had opted to flee out of Benghazi after noting a spike in militia presence.
In search of vessels
The team leader, Steven Hodge, explained to the police how he had been around the port of Benghazi in search of vessels to assist helicopters in any eventual evacuation operation, until he got communication from Opus Capital Headquarters, saying that they were sending two boats, leased from Malta-based company, Sovereign Charterers.
All 20 members of the team had pre-booked tickets out of Malta and were sent on their way after due police investigations.
However, investigations continued focusing on James Fenech and four of his employees who had actually been involved in ferrying the boats to Libya, following the signing of the charter party agreement between the Maltese chartering company and Opus Capital.
In terms of that agreement, the lease was to take effect from June to September 2019 at €480,000 for the two boats, which were registered as pleasure craft.
The documentation relative to the agreement had been handled by a local reputable law firm, engaged by Fenech, who told investigators that “he had expected them to inform him of all necessary formalities”.
Although due clearance had been obtained from Customs and Immigration Police, the authorisation from the Sanctions Monitoring Board had not been sought.
This landed the chartering agreement in default of EU Council regulations and thus sparked criminal action against the Maltese company, its director and his employees.
Neville Aquilina, Chairman of the Sanctions Monitoring Board, also took the witness stand, confirming that the board had never been approached, whether formally or informally for prior authorisation. He said the board had “an obligation and responsibility” to ensure the rigorous implementation of EU and UN sanctions.
Whilst identifying Mr Fenech in court, the witness said that his only prior contact with him had been in the course of a normal, outreach exercise last December with arms dealers, but no request for prior authorisation by Sovereign Charterers had ever been tabled before the board.
This point was driven home by defence lawyer Joe Giglio when cross-examining Inspector Zammit, stressing further that Sovereign Charterers had never tried to hide in any way the chartering of the boats, nor their consignment.
Asked whether police had traced any instructions to switch off the boats’ tracking devices, Inspector Zammit replied that, “at no point did we establish communication of that sort.”
Upon a request by the men’s defence team, the court, presided over by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, decreed that Freezing Orders issued against Bertrand Agius, Konrad Agius and Michael Cauchi, were to be revoked after the prosecution declared that investigations against these three co-accused were concluded.
Freezing orders in respect of Mr Fenech and Mr Bugeja are to be assessed at the next hearing in June.
Superintendent George Cremona and Inspector Omar Zammit are prosecuting.
Lawyers Joe Giglio, Stephen Tonna Lowell and Patrick Valentino are defence counsel.