Updated 7.45am
Transport Malta is seeking legal advice over a contract it has with a company indirectly owned by alleged kidnapper Christian Borg, which runs until 2025.
“Transport Malta has a total of 41 vehicles being rented from Princess Operations Limited. This was carried out by a DOC [Department of Contracts] tender... and it expires in 2025,” a spokesperson said responding to questions from Times of Malta.
Princess Operations Ltd is fully owned by Princess Holdings Limited, a company set up in 2015 and managed in entirety by Borg.
The call was issued in 2020 and covers the lease of 38 low-emission motorbikes and cars and three vans.
The tender was awarded in three parts, with each worth €157,680, €50,808 and €39,420 respectively.
Princess Operations beat 42 other applications submitted by 13 different companies to win the three contracts, despite rival bids coming in cheaper for two of the three submissions.
Transport Malta confirmed the continued business arrangement with Princess Operations less than two weeks after LESA said it was “seeking legal advice” over a tender to lease 24 cars from the same company for €108,405.
In additional comments to Times of Malta on Monday, TM said they too were seeking legal advice over the tender.
Borg hit the headlines last month following revelations by Times of Malta that his car hire-purchase company No Deposit Cars Malta makes customers sign contracts accepting their vehicles may have GPS tracking devices installed.
Ten days later, 26 customers filed a judicial protest asking for their contracts with the company to be rescinded and calling for a police investigation into tax evasion and fraud.
On April 1, the business was in the news again for concerns over privacy after it published a video online that showed the name and photo of one customer who the company claimed had failed to keep up to date with his payments.
The video accused another of having “wrecked” a Peugeot 208 and published details of traffic fines incurred by a third customer, along with the number plate of the person’s car.
The director of both No Deposit Cars Malta and Princess Operations is Joseph Camenzuli, a former Labour party photographer.
On April 4, Camenzuli and No Deposit Cars Malta manager Luke Milton gave an exclusive interview to Times of Malta, during which they defended the company’s right to track its customers.