Revoking an unnecessary pardon

Why was a pardon issued for George Farrugia in the first instance, when there had been admissions to the police well before the pardon was granted?

George Farrugia
George Farrugia

There are stereotypes and then there are perceptions.

People love stereotypes and believe in perceptions.

I guess everyone thinks that in this oil scandal there are the good guys and the bad guys. 

And oil broker George Farrugia is trying very hard to give the impression that he is a good guy.

Was he a victim of circumstance?

Was he a bona fide businessman?

His brothers think otherwise. I think so too.

He is the fortunate beneficiary of a wrong decision taken by a prime minister: he was given a pardon.

His pardon should be revoked at once, because if there is someone definitely culpable it is him.

If there was no Total and there was no George Farrugia, we would not be writing this story.

He is trying very hard to suggest that he never offered anyone a kickback to have the oil company he represented considered.

It is a pity that many readers forget that George Farrugia continued to operate without any problem well after the departure of Tancred Tabone. I guess everyone was blackmailing Mr Farrugia.

Let us for one minute stop to read carefully what he said in court.

He said that he was 'blackmailed' or thought that he was 'blackmailed' by Tancred Tabone to ensure that the oil company he was representing would be given preferential treatment.

Now of course he spoke under oath, which according to some guarantees something akin to the Pope's infallibility.

As we all know, court oaths are not exactly a reflection of the truth and the whole truth.

Having said this, I do not believe George Farrugia at all.

It is of course his word against everyone else's, but how is it possible that all the kickbacks (though there is no proof that Tabone accepted a kickback) took place whenever Farrugia met someone at Enemalta?

He is giving the impression that as soon as he confronted an Enemalta official he would threaten him to play ball or else...!

Farrugia gives the impression of someone acting under duress.

His gifts varied from cash, silver trays and a Korando car. There is no proof that Tabone accepted a gift.

The question to ask is, did everyone walk around with a T-shirt with 'bribe me' written on it? And has anyone noted that he was the common denominator in all the cases?

What is consistent is that he spun a web of lies to his brothers, to his accountant, his administrators and his trust managers, and yet he thinks that he should be believed simply because he took an oath.

He seems to have taken everyone for a ride. Or...

He has stated that he was hesitant about 'offering' commissions because he had to consult with his brothers. What a bloody liar. If his brothers knew or were consulted over the commissions which Farrugia alleges were asked of him, the police should have arraigned the whole Farrugia family.

I just believe that he was the right man for the moment, and of course there is political expediency.

And the more interesting part of the story is that Farrugia was not only playing the part of the broker, but he was also shafting his own brothers, who were supposed to be taking a percentage of the bona fide commission - to the extent that his brothers even took him to court for cheating them.

George Farrugia was given a pardon by former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi after our man of integrity, the former police commissioner John Rizzo, suggested to the Prime Minister's Secretariat (his words) that Farrugia be given a presidential pardon after his lawyer, Franco Debono, demanded it.

I am not too sure that Franco Debono was the only guy who pleaded with the prime minister. I could be wrong. But then my gut feeling usually isn't.

The big question which none of the reporters are pointing out is that George Farrugia can say what the f**k he likes without any repercussions. He is free to say whatever he likes about anyone and literally invent anything without an iota of hard evidence.

What is also interesting is that with the same kind of reasoning, one starts to wonder why he was blackmailed, when he appeared to be such a willing partner (eating out and conversing with his monstrous interlocutors). His emails are perhaps the best example of what little pressure there was on Mr Farrugia.

Perhaps everyone has conveniently forgotten the visit, together with his brother, to former Minister Tonio Fenech and the presentation of a Maltese clock.

With Farrugia's reasoning, Fenech must have been blackmailing him.

No, Tonio Fenech was not blackmailing anyone. Fenech was simply being stupid and accepting a gift from individuals whom he should have held at arm's length, because he knew all too well that they were brokers and involved in the sale of fuel to Enemalta.

My conclusion is that then prime minister Gonzi had no reason to issue a pardon.

The question is, why was a pardon issued in the first instance, when there had been admissions to the police well before the pardon was granted?

***

There are few words to describe the tragedy of Syrians drowning off Malta.

Hey, they have white skin, not black.

Perhaps the fact that they are white and Syrian and look just like Maltese may serve to change our attitude to the problem. I guess European leaders will think twice before coming out with yet another silly statement.

Trying to picture a scene with drowning children and toddlers and their parents in the open Mediterranean Sea is just too hard.

Picture your child and the whole thing simply collapses.

I guess the tragedy in Africa and the civil war in Syria are things we can choose to ignore. Like all the other conflicts we only bother about when they affect us.

Well, I sure hope that the sight of a dead toddler wrapped in white sheets on the wet cement at Pieta is enough to send a signal to all those who think that this problem will go away.

It will not.

avatar
It is evident that this is a matter of scratch my back or Otherwise I wont scratch yours.
avatar
Along with the question: why was the pardon given? One has to ask another obvious question: why did the government choose a highly polluting and unpopular oil burning solution over gas for the extension? We know now that there were people who were taking kick-backs from the oil procurement, so there is a logical explanation to this otherwise inexplicable decision. But this would of course imply that the issue went higher up than the people who are in the dock today, because they had no say in the decision on the power station - or did they?
avatar
We all deserve truth and justice from everyone, but especially from those whom we have empowered to administer governmental office.Be they politicians, police, prosecutors etc, they are there because the citizens allow them that privilage. Some of them need to be reminded often that they are actually there to provide a service, and to conduct themselves honestly in a transparent manner. Journalists need to be ever vigilante as you are the voice of the people. So keep knocking on the door of truth, eventually even the most sceptic will accept it. Only by persisting on presenting the truth can a society rid itself of all that is not in the common good. When it transpires that there are wrongs that need to be put right, then so be it. Let's put them right,then we can move forward without regret. Keep it up MaltaToday...your time is now.
avatar
Although I am not saying that it is so, I have every right to believe that he was granted a pardon to cover up much more serious corruption involving politicians and MP's.
avatar
Mr Balzan I and I think 90% of the Maltese people agree with you wholeheartedly. This Presidential Pardon was nothing more than a bag of politics, and a sack of shit as they say to cover the mistakes and the greed of some of the politicians. In other instances that I know off, a Pardon is given to the little fish so they can go after the big fish. But not in this case and not in Malta. The PM at the time decided to release the big fish so he can go after the little fish even though he knew that the BIG FISH was the most guilty of them all. George Farrugia has nothing to lose by accepting the Presidential Pardon but I think that the PM and some of his cronies had a lot more to lose if this Presidential Pardon was not given to George Farrugia.That is why George Farrugia was given the despicable Presidential Pardon, in other words Mr Balzan the PN was covering their ass by giving George Farrugia that uncalled for Presidential Pardon. Now we have a new Government, with a new PM and a new police chief and hopefully that Presidential Pardon can be revoked. It seems that the police have the goods on Mr Farrugia, so why not turn the tables around and hold Mr Farrugia accountable like the rest of them all? On the other hand the PM can do a lot of things, even put a close on a criminal case which is still pending in the EU investigation.
avatar
One thing is without doubt, this chap knows how to get things his way. He had the cake and eat it. And laughed all the way to the bank.
avatar
Saviour, tant ghandek hdura ghal Gonzi u tant minghalik trid tipprova thammgu, li fir-ritratt li gibt ta' Pawlu Borg Olivier, mar-rapport tax-xhieda tieghu fil-Qorti, ippruvajt tinvolvi lill-mara ta' Gonzi...minn daqs dawk ritratti li ghandek ta' PBO. Isthi jekk taf tisthi. Issa naraw kemm se ggib dan il-kumment, ghax hlief dawk li jaqbel lilek ma ggibx. Nerga' nghlek, isthi jekk taf tisthi. Shame on you.
avatar
I have been following this story since Malta Today published it. I was under the impression that millions of euros have passed from one hand to another. So far we know only that a silver tray, a maltese clock a car and some other things have been mentioned. So I ask were are the remaining millions?
avatar
To answer your main question... Could this have been granted because he "requested" it or else?????? AHA! Back to the blackmailing theory so profusely spread about by Farrugia!!
avatar
Mr. Farrugia is one of the last immoral cabals that operated with the government blessings in exchange for friendly considerations. It is futile and irresponsible to call for his head when during the last decade of GonziPN, ministers and their accolades were repeatedly caught and exposed with conflicts of interest and other questionable business transactions. Just as an example let’s mention the ministerial deal with Arriva and the disastrous management by Transport Malta that to this day still treat the citizens who use public transport as irrelevant. The twenty year old buses freshly painted but obviously burned out and the horrendous schedules that transformed Malta’s public transportation into a nightmare. Has anyone been held accountable? Saviour you could fill your newspaper with pages of scandals, but hardly a paragraph with naming someone who was held accountable. You sound scandalized with the lies and fabricated tales of convenience however the Maltese people has begun to understand that this last decade of GonziPN was nothing but lies and fabricated political propaganda.
avatar
I think he played his cards well.