Gonzi should explain minister's involvement in oil scandal - Muscat

Opposition leader Joseph Muscat said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and transport minister Austin Gatt should come clean on new revelations on the Enemalta oil scandal which point at the involvement of a Cabinet minister in the oil procurement deals.

While insisting that he was not in a position to judge the Cabinet's decision to grant a businessman involved in the Enemalta oil scandal a presidential pardon Labour leader Joseph Muscat said that new revelations raised more suspicions.

"Since I do not have all the information at my disposal I give the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt on his decision to recommend a presidential pardon," Muscat said, adding that he did not wish to cast further doubts on the Cabinet's decision.

Speaking on Labour's television station on Sunday morning together with his deputy leader Louis Grech, Muscat said that email correspondence published by The Times called for clear explanations by transport minister Austin Gatt who previously claimed that he had never discussed oil procurement deals with businessman George Farrugia, who was granted a presidential pardon by the Cabinet to turn State's witness and testify in a court of law on the kickback allegations first reported by MaltaToday.

Muscat said that emails citing Farrugia's meetings with "the minister" and a person referred to as AG raised further questions which need to be cleared.

Muscat explained that the emails show that an official of Dutch oil company Trafigura, involved in the Enemalta oil procurement deals had asked Farrugia how his meeting with Austin Gatt had gone.

The Labour leader said: "I don't believe the Trafigura official was interested in Austin Gatt's take on what was going on in Hamrun and Valletta."

Muscat also said that the emails showed that Farrugia asked former Enemalta chairman Tancred Tabone if they could discuss details of a meeting he had with 'A.G'

The Labour leader said he would not speculate who "A.G" was, but Gonzi and Gatt needed to clear the air.

"I understand the Prime Minister has more details at hand, surely more than I and Labour knows. We understand that the Prime Minister held meetings with the Attorney General and Police Commissioner John Rizzo before taking the decision on Friday, however we have no clue what advice the Prime Minister was given," Muscat said.

Muscat stressed that he was not in a position to judge the Prime Minister's decision, "but this case confirmed the urgent need for a whistleblowers act because politicians who are potentially involved in wrongdoings cannot participate in decisions on pardons."

In January, Transport Minister Austin Gatt filed a libel suit against MaltaToday, after denying having met businessman George Farrugia over any alleged contracts for the procurement of fuel consignments to state utility Enemalta.

MaltaToday on Sunday had published excerpts from emails showing Farrugia in regular contact with Enemalta officials and the minister and other oil companies, in a bid on his part to ensure the lucrative sale of oil to Enemalta.

Gatt has categorically denied meeting Farrugia to discuss Enemalta's oil procurement. "I categorically and without any reservations, absolutely deny that anything of the sort ever happened or that any conversations I ever had with anyone at all - let alone George Farrugia - ever even remotely touched on the subject."

George Farrugia, the local agent for commodities firm Trafigura, which is alleged to have paid 'commissions' to a former MOBC chief executive for the supply of oil to state utility Enemalta, has asked for a presidential pardon in a bid to turn State's witness and testify in a court of law on the allegations first reported by MaltaToday.

Former Enemalta consultant and MOBC chief executive Frank Sammut is believed to have been the recipient of kickbacks from Trafigura for the supply of oil to Enemalta, back in 2004.

Former Enemalta chairman Tancred Tabone, who appointed Sammut as a consultant after his role as CEO of the MOBC was terminated, has also been called in for questioning by the police on the same investigation. Tabone handed in his resignation as president of the Chamber of Commerce earlier on Friday.

Tabone is a director and shareholder in Island Bunker Oils Ltd, a company that took over storage capacity from the MOBC and is connected to investigations being conducted by the police.

In this morning's brief interview, Muscat promised a new way of doing politics and underlined that the electorate understood and subscribed to Labour's positive message.

"We are running a positive campaign, not only in the message but also in our reaction to the PN's negative campaigning. On one hand you have negative campaigning on the other we have published our electoral manifesto," Muscat said.

He added that on 10 March "everybody must be a winner," and described next month's election as "one of those moments in Maltese history which transcend partisan politics," stressing that the era of red versus blue was over.

While describing the €1.1 billion EU funds obtained by Malta on Friday as an "important amount," Muscat said that it was not about quantity but about how the funds are used.

He added that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had missed a perfect occasion to rise above the political fray by taking ownership of the EU funds and shedding doubt on Labour's European credentials.

On his part, deputy leader Louis Grech said that Labour's change goes beyond a change in government but the change Labour is proposing is a change in the modus operandi of government.

"This is the right time to pull the barriers down. Its not easy but then nothing is in life," Grech said.