Liquidating GO workers' pension fund could qualify as 'criminal misappropriation', government told

The government has rejected a proposal by a foundation that represents GO employees for the liquidation of a pension fund it administers.

Over the past months, the government was engaged in discussions with the leadership of the foundation. Although an agreement had been reached with foundation’s leadership, its members rejected it.

The finance ministry said in a statement that the foundation's members had then called for the fund to be liquidated and for the money left over after the settling of debts (around €5 million) to be redistributed among GO employees. However, the Attorney General warned that such a redistribution of wealth could qualify in court as criminal misappropriation, given that the fund had over the years received government financial assistance on condition that the money be used for a specific purpose.

Splitting the current savings amongst the current employees could therefore deny future staff a private pension upon their retirement. The AG also raised doubts about the manner in which the Foundation collected the votes that resulted in a majority vote in favour of the fund’s liquidation.

“The Foundation members complete ignored the government’s offer that would have strengthened the fund and granted it the necessary flexibility to be sustainable for current and future members,” it said. “We wanted the Foundation to be administered by financial experts to ensure that all GO employees who retired or left the company would be entitled to a decent pension, and that all pending debts are settled.  

The government had also offered to forgive some €1 million in debt that the Foundation had loaned from it in 1998 so as to have the capital to purchase shares in the company, that was back then called Maltacom.  

Earlier this year, GO selected Tunisie Telecom – Tunisia’s telecommunications operators – as the winning bidder for the 60% of its shares currently owned by Emirates International Telecommunications, in a deal worth €174.5 million.