The proposed sanctions against former footballer turned alleged international fuel smuggler Darren Debono and his associates would seriously hamper their ability to continue hiding their money from authorities, sources have said.
Malta last week put forward designations for Mr Debono and his associates, fuel trader Gordon Debono and Libyan Fahmi Bin Khalifa, to the United Nations Security Council.
On Sunday, MaltaToday reported that although the proposed designations had been put to the council members five days earlier, Russia put a hold on the matter in the 11th hour.
Sources involved in investigating alleged fuel smuggling between Malta, Libya and Italy, on Tuesday told Times of Malta that although the criminal network had been named in international reports, most of their assets had still not been seized.
the three men would find it close to impossible to get their hands back on their money, no matter how well it had been hidden away
Darren Debono was hit by US Treasury Department sanctions last year, with businesses and bank accounts impacted.
His restaurant along Valletta’s Marsamxett Harbour, Scoglitti, was also blacklisted.
Sources said that the bulk of his and his associates’ holdings were not on the island and were believed to be hidden in tax havens outside the EU.
A UN sanctioning would mean that the three men would find it close to impossible to get their hands back on their money, no matter how well it had been hidden away.
Darren Debono and Gordon Debono were both arrested by Italian police back in 2017 shortly after the arrest of Mr Bin Khalifa by Libyan militiamen.
Malta last week put forward designations for Darren Debono and his associates, fuel trader Gordon Debono and Libyan Fahmi Bin Khalifa, to the United Nations Security Council.Multi-million fuel smuggling operation
The multi-million fuel smuggling operation would see Maltese ships transport Libyan State fuel out of North Africa and into the European market, with the help of falsified paperwork and mafia contacts.
A two-year investigation by Italian police, codenamed Operation Dirty Oil, had blown the lid off the operation after a United Nations’ Panel of Experts on Libya report had detailed the criminal gang’s operations.
The network is believed to have smuggled over 80 million kilos of gasoil out of Libya. A Sicilian mafia associate named Nicola Orazio Romeo was also mentioned in the paperwork handed to the UN Security Council by Malta, however, he would not face sanctions yet.
Sources said Malta’s sanctioning efforts were a “game changer”. Malta had faced criticism for allowing the alleged smugglers to get away with the criminal activity with perceived impunity, the sources said.
“If we get these designations, then not only will it mean that this criminal network will not be able to move their assets, or even travel out of the island, but it will also send out a message that Malta is finally doing something serious about this activity,” the sources said.
The same sources also lamented the leaking of the Russian veto to the press over the weekend, saying it had let the cat out of the bag.
“This sort of heads-up is exactly the kind of thing we want to avoid in future. It not only undermines our work – risking the criminals covering their tracks – but also makes the jurisdiction look bad,” they said.