Labour MP, candidates to file for criminal slander against Austin Gatt

Labour MP Evarist Bartolo and Labour candidates Manuel Mallia and David Farrugia Sacco will file criminal defamation proceedings against transport minister Austin Gatt for suggesting they were behind "a frame-up" against him.

The three candidates said they would ask the police to take urgent steps in the proceedings.

Bartolo today said Gatt's "attempt at being a detective" - accusing him of posting a Facebook photo of the email published by MaltaToday.com.mt, that shows oil trader George Farrugia citing a meeting with the minister in 2004 - had fallen flat.

"It seems we have our own Inspector Clouseau," Bartolo said, lampooning Gatt with the famous Peter Sellars character.

"I was tagged in a Facebook post that posted a photo of the email published in MaltaToday. Clearly Gatt is desperate, finding himself in a corner, and he has every interest to deviate attention away from him and blame others."

"It's Austin Gatt who's in deep shit here... the minister has to answer for what happened during his time as energy minister," Bartolo said, referring to the kickbacks paid by Trafigura to an Enemalta consultant for a US$ 4.4 million in the supply of oil to Enemalta, in 2004 - first revealed by MaltaToday.

Bartolo also alluded to the existence of a "JS list" which the Labour MP described as "a list of contractors who donate to the Nationalist Party."

"Of those who benefited from commissions on Enemalta oil-purchasing, are any of them on the JS List? Are there any among them who donated funds to the Nationalist Party?"

Bartolo also questioned Gatt's decision to fire the chairman of the Fuel Procurement Advisory Committee, reiterating that the chairman in question "wanted to do things seriously by hiring two graduate. Instead of giving him the tools to work with, he got rid of him as chairman."

He also called on the prime Minister to clarify whether, prior to the 2008m election, he had been informed regarding "rampant corruption in oil-purchasing."

"When Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was informed of this, and showed documents, what did he do? Did he go to the Police?"

On his part, Labour candidate Manuel Mallia said Gatt was attempting to deviate attention away from him by hosting a press conference based on "conjecture and supposition", as admitted by the minister himself.

"Our I.T. minister is trying to tell us that Bartolo's tagging in a Facebook post; and the fact that I was a lawyer for George Farrugia's brothers [of John's Group of Companies], was somehow part of a conjecture pointing to a frame-up. I pity this country for having a minister who is trying to alienate us, to turn the searchlight from him onto other people through conjecture. The people out there know that this is spin and they are intelligent enough to realise the game that's taking place."

In his press conference, Gatt said Mallia and Labour candidate David Farrugia Sacco were formerly lawyers to the Farrugia brothers, connecting them to a cache of emails deposited in court as part of a judicial protest they filed against George Farrugia.

"The first time I saw these emails was in MaltaToday," said Mallia categorically, adding that he never passed on the emails, or asked third parties to pass on the emails to anyone.

"I was never part of some audit investigation into these emails as alleged by the minister. Contrary to Gatt's claims, I have been to Geneva [the seat of oil company Trafigura, whom George Farrugia represented] on business unrelated to oil contracts but on a telecommunications matter."

Mallia also insisted that not only was he not involved in the investigative audit referred to by Gatt, but that he had "never seen Farrugia's computer, and I don't even know whether it is  a tower, a desktop, a laptop, or even an ipad."

Mallia also questioned the reason behind Gatt's press conference. "If the minister has already categorically denied meeting Farrugia, why would he try to search for a reason to speculate on a frame-up?

"This was a cheap way of mudslinging in a bid to deviate attention away from him," Mallia said, adding that "I have never framed anyone in my life, nor do I intend to."

On his part, David Farrugia Sacco denied any sort of involvement in a frame-up of the minister. "I entered politics to give my contribution, and yet I find myself facing this kind of mudslinging. I represented the brothers of George Farrugia in a civil case which was settled out of court."

Farrugia Sacco also denied categorically having passed on any emails from the civil case to the Labour Party or other third parties.

"I exclude that I or any other member of my law firm, including my brother who is an IT expert, and who was not connected to the IT audit of these emails in the case, ever passed on these emails to third parties."

Farrugia Sacco said the IT audit mentioned by Gatt, was commissioned by the Farrugia brothers, privately.

He said that he is aware of who the third party commissioned to carry out the audit is, but said he is not at liberty to discuss due to professional confidentiality issues.

"I can assure you however that it is not my brother, or anyone connected to my firm."

Farrugia however confirmed that he is the lawyer of the Farrugia brothers, explaining that they had tabled civil procedures in the civil court which death with funds that were supposed to have entered the company, but were in fact paid to their brother's company.

"The case was purely civil, and it has since been transacted," Farrugia Sacco said, also refuting reports that the case in question was a judicial protest.

MUSCAT REACTION TO GATT'S OIL-MEETINGS STATEMENT

In a statement in Gozo, Joseph Muscat also rubbished suspicions raised by Transport Minister Austin Gatt late this afternoon that Muscat had met with oil traders, without substantiating the claim.

"Yes I did meet them... to tell them that our policy is in favour of gas," Muscat said, few minutes after Gatt held a press conference at the PN's headquarters.

Addressing a political activity in Xaghra, for which the President of the European Socialists & Democrats Hannes Swoboda was also present, Muscat did not waste any time in reassuring his audience that his party did nothing wrong.

"We are the party that embarked on a positive campaign. We didn't go for what divides a country, but we went after what brings us together," Muscat said.

"Rest assured that those leading a negative campaign is only down to the fact that they have no proposals, or that it has given up on talking about the future."

Referring to the Gatt press conference, Muscat said the minister chose to "attack the independent media, conjuring up conspiracy theories about the PL being in cahoots with the independent media to bring him and his government down.

"It would do him more good if he were to start answering questions on the biggest scandal this country has ever seen instead of getting lost in conspiracy theories and such mutterings," he said.

Muscat said that a Labour government would cease oil consumption in Malta once and for all, opting for cleaner energy.