Jury still out on police reluctance to press charges against Dalli

The charges that police pressed against the man accused of soliciting a multimillion bribe from the European smokeless tobacco lobby had specifically stated that former European commissioner John Dalli had "requested, received or accepted" a bribe - a factor that raises questions over court testimony that John Rizzo gave this week in the compilation of evidence against Silvio Zammit.

Former commissioner of police John Rizzo told a court this week he had the go-ahead from Attorney General Peter Grech to press charges against John Dalli over the alleged bribery.

But the police failed to press charges against Dalli since first arraigning Zammit on 11 December 2012, with Rizzo claiming in court that the former commissioner had been holed up in Brussels seeking medical treatment during the ensuing months, when Malta was in a prolonged, three-month electoral campaign.

While Zammit's charge sheet specifically refers to Dalli as the recipient of an alleged bribe, allegedly in return for lifting an EU ban on the sale of smokeless tobacco, the jury is still out as to why Rizzo never proceeded to press charges, given his clear mandate from the Attorney General.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil on Friday latched onto Rizzo's court testimony to claim that Dalli had availed himself of the change in government of 10 March 2013 to return to Malta, hinting that Rizzo's successor planned to cancel the charges against Dalli under political influence from the new Labour government.

In a reply yesterday, Dalli accused Busuttil of 'falsity' over suggestions that he had used his medical treatment in Brussels as a delaying tactic to evade arraignment.

"I returned on 6 April, when Rizzo was still commissioner. He had every opportunity to take the steps he felt he should take," Dalli said in comments to MaltaToday.

"What's uncertain is whether Busuttil's false statement is down to some superficiality or malice," Dalli said of the new Nationalist Party leader.

"When my medical certificate expired, my lawyer informed the police I would be back in Malta within a few days. I did not come in stealth. When the new commissioner sent for me on 21 May 2013 to interrogate me, Inspector Angelo Gafà was also present during the whole interview. This fact again contradicts what Busuttil said."

Busuttil has called for the resignation of Commissioner of Police Peter Paul Zammit, saying that his recent public statements that there was no case against Dalli contradicted the conclusions of Rizzo and those of the Attorney General, Peter Grech.

The Attorney General has so far not made his position public as to whether he had agreed that there was enough evidence to charge John Dalli.

When cross-examined by Zammit's defence counsel, Rizzo himself did not explain in court why he did not press charges against Gayle Kimberley - a Maltese lawyer engaged by snus producers Swedish Match to broker a meeting with John Dalli. The EU's anti-fraud unit, OLAF, suggested that Kimberley had been the accomplice in the bribery attempt.

On his part, Rizzo told the court he agreed with OLAF's conclusion that, based on the circumstantial evidence of telephone call logs between Dalli and Zammit at the same time that Zammit was soliciting the bribe from ESTOC, there was evidence to charge Dalli.

Kimberley has already denied in court having suggested to Silvio Zammit to solicit a €60 million bribe from Swedish Match, which was the original request made to the company before Zammit tried to make a similar offer to ESTOC.

Emails published by MaltaToday show that even after Kimberley was told by Swedish Match to sever contact with Zammit, her husband Matthew emailed a lobbying proposal to Zammit that was to be sent to ESTOC. It was this email that set the ball rolling for Zammit's proposal to ESTOC Secretary-General Inge Delfosse for a €10 million price to lift the ban on snus.

While Silvio Zammit was arraigned in court the day after the Nationalist government lost a budgetary vote that sent the country to early elections in December 2012, Gafà testified during the compilation of evidence that Dalli was expected to be charged.

No crime was ever specified, and although Dalli's health condition was indicated as the reason he was not charged, the prosecution also failed to press charges in the subsequent four months. The three-month election campaign was also unfolding at the time.

In court this week, Rizzo denied having been put under pressure by members of the Nationalist government to issue charges against Silvio Zammit or John Dalli. But the former commissioner mentioned "pressure from MPs and the media" on the police to issue charges on the so-called Dalligate affair.

"This issue needs explaining," Dalli said. "As far as I know, parliament never discussed the case, having not met between 15 December 2012 and 6 April 2013. How was parliament exerting pressure on Rizzo? Does this sworn evidence establish political pressure on the police, as was reported in the local media as far back as 16 December 2012?"