Dalli says Bahamas claims are retribution from scorned client

John Dalli is claiming a Bahamanian resident who rented his family a villa in Nassau in the summer of 2012, is seeking retribution against him after failing a due diligence test when he wanted to carry out a financial transaction using the services of Dalli's daughter.

The former European Commissioner has already accused his former employers and members of the EU-anti fraud agency OLAF of spreading rumours connected to his private visit to the Bahamas in 2012. Dali, who is denying flying there on 7-8 July to carry out an alleged multi-million transfer, has now pointed fingers at Barry Connor - who rented Dalli a villa on a second visit to the Caribbean tax haven - as having been the source of a story by the International Herald Tribune that Dalli had been seeking ways of transferring cash in the midst of an OLAF investigation.

The allegations suggest Dalli made the trip after learning of the investigation into an alleged bribe to reverse anti-tobacco legislation he was piloting, after Silvio Zammit - today charged with asking for the bribe from Swedish company Swedish Match - was interrogated on 6 July.

"Connor is the landlord of the house in the Bahamas rented by a group that used it as a base for meetings with USA counterparts, over a period of three months," Dalli said.

The former commissioner said he was in the Bahamas on a philanthropic initiative for which he was giving voluntary advice, but has denied carrying out any money transfer or that he has any bank accounts on the islands.

"Connor used to visit the house practically every day, and at least when I was present, participated in the discussions taking place very openly about a philanthropic project... Connor suggested that a trust he had in the Bahamas could be used as a vehicle for funds that would be received for the project," Dalli said in a statement to MaltaToday.

Dalli however claims that Connor visited Malta, when he was away from the island, and that he asked Dalli's daughter to help him organise "some financial transactions."

"She turned him down as the transactions were suspect," Dalli said.

He is now claiming that a comment posted on the blog of the Electronic Cigarette Industry Trade Association, on 13 February 2012 by 'Edward Butters' could have been the work of Connor.

The comment in question stated: "Would anyone be interested that John Dalli visited the Bahamas with his daughter in Aug and Sept 2012. Rented a seaside million dollar mansion and had discussions with Bahamians about transferring tens of millions of $'s to the Bahamas?"

Dalli added that it was between the 19 February and the 3 March that Connor sent his daughter "threatening emails containing the same false insinuations... I believe Edward Butter is Connor, who wanted to spread these lies using a false name. The [European] Commission again grasped the opportunity without checking the source."

The comment in question could have possibly - although there is no evidence - been the source of the story by the International Herald Tribune on Monday 1 July: pro-tobacco blogger 'Dick Puddlecote' says in his blog that upon reading the comment, he tracked down Butters with the help of 'J Johnson'. "Sadly, he wasn't too thrilled with talking to a mere blogger so I pointed him in the direction of EU-centric journos who might be motivated to write it up, but not before teasing out a couple of juicy alleged tidbits about the case."

OLAF connection

Dalli is claiming the origin of the story published by the International Herald Tribune, is part of an attack meant to influence MEPs ahead of a vote on Wednesday on a report by German member Inge Graessle, on the operations of OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud agency that claimed Dalli was aware of a €60 million bribe to reverse a ban on snus, the chewing tobacco produced by Swedish Match.

With his private Bahamas trip ensconced between Zammit's and his own interrogation by OLAF, the revelation fuelled speculation of connections with the OLAF investigation.

But Dalli has denied allegations of a money transfer, and yesterday wrote to MEPs telling them he was ready to give a trusted individual a power of attorney to verify that he does not hold any accounts in the Bahamas, except for his Brussels and Malta bank accounts.

Dalli, forced to resign in October 2012 after OLAF claimed he had been aware of Zammit's bribe request to Swedish Match, told MEPs that the Herald story was replete with insinuations that he was trying to move millions of dollars to the Bahamas.

"These millions of dollars did not exist. On the 8 July I discussed the objectives of the proposed philanthropic project to get an understanding of what its pertinence [was]. No funding was discussed. In August I again visited. I met Mr Barry Connor for the first time as he was visiting the house every day. Discussions were very open and in front of everyone present. When potential funds and their management were mentioned, Mr Connor stated that he was the beneficiary of a trust in the Bahamas and that that fund can be used. I asked how trusts in the Bahamas work."

Dalli insists he was giving voluntary advice on a philanthropic initiative with Africa as its target continent, and said that in the Bahamas he talked about "an innovative cheap power generation that would be very useful to be used in the project".