Updated | Former finance minister 'didn't object' to Karl Camilleri leaving with work laptop

According to former Enemalta acting chairman, former CEO Karl Camilleri had been wrong to take a laptop without first removing all information pertaining to Enemalta.

William Spiteri Bailey this evening appeared before the Public Accounts Committee as it continued discussing the Auditor General's report on Enemalta's fuel procurement.

Spiteri Bailey also confirmed that Camilleri had requested to take the laptop during a meeting with former finance minister Tonio Fenech.

Fenech reportedly didn't object to Camilleri's request.

When Camilleri appeared before the PAC, he claimed that it had been Spiteri Bailey who gave him the permission.

"But I thought he would have taken it after removing all information from the laptop. I never thought he would retain the information," Spiteri Bailey said, insisting that what Camilleri had done was wrong.

Confirming the Auditor General's report, Spiteri Bailey said that the Fuel Procurement Committee operated in a policy vacuum before a policy was introduced in 2011.

The PAC proceedings as they unfolded

8:25pm PAC session ends here. Thank you for following us.

8:20pm Spiteri Bailey also admits that he did give permission to former CEO Karl Camilleri to take the office laptop.

"But I thought he would have taken it after clearing it of any information. I never thought he would have taken all the information," he says.

Spiteri Bailey also revealed that Karl Camilleri had requested the permission to take the laptop during a meeting with then finance minister Tonio Fenech.

The permission had been given by Fenech.

8:15pm Confirming the Auditor General's report, Spiteri Bailey says that the FPC operated in a policy vacuum.

He also said he had no opinion over Pippo Pandolfino's decision to move to Island Bunker Oils Ltd - a company whose one of its shareholders would have been Pandolfino's former boss at Enemalta Tancred Tabone.

He also said it was "disheartening" that certain people he worked with "let him down" - with reference to the Enemalta oil scandal.

8:05pm Spiteri Bailey says that, together with Edmund Gatt Baldacchino, the two believed in enhancing transparency. They pushed for the procurement policy which was eventually implemented in 2011. He says that he didn't like the idea of having bids sent to a generic email (the chairman's).

"I never witnessed anything wrong but I believed that there should be have been more transparency."

8:02pm Like all previous witnesses, Spiteri Baileys attributes the lack of minutes during FPC meetings to "practice". He also denies experiencing interference in FPC workings and he was never asked to meet any oil traders.

Despite having been a director at Enemalta, Spiteri Bailey was never informed of the 2010 email which Austin Gatt had sent setting a hedging strategy. The first time he heard about it was through the Auditor General's report.

7:50pm Spiteri Bailey explains that Tonio Fenech had approached him to serve as Enemalta's chairman - a request he refused. He therefore accepted to act as a non-executive acting chairman until a chairman was found. Spiteri Bailey wento on to become deputy chairman following the appointment of Louis Giordimaina as Enemalta's chairman.

Spiteri Bailey left Enemalta's board in April 2013.

During his tenure, Spiteri Bailey focused on the implementation of the fuel procurement policy and to bring the company's audit accounts up to date. He also initiated the process for the setting up of the special purpose vehicle to address Enemalta's debts.

7:46pm Next up is William Spiteri Bailey who served as acting chairman at Enemalta.

7:43pm Beppe Fenech Adami asks whether she has been approached by the Police since the PAC proceedings started. Mercieca replies in the negative.

Fenech Adami's question reflects statements by the Prime Minister who said he "hoped" the Police were following the PAC proceedings.

She also confirms that since the PAC started discussing the Auditor General's report, the Police never approached Enemalta for further investigations.

7:40pm Sorry for the gap there... but they are getting lost over numbers and shipments and general explanations over fines. Mercieca cannot confirm whether any fines were issued because the product was off specifications.

7:25pm Labour MP Justyne Caruana points out that during 2011 - when Trafigura was supplying the fuel oil for that year - the product used to be off specifications several times... if not on sulphur it would be on density.

7:19pm In reply to Labour MP Chris Agius's questions, Mercieca said there was absolutely no connection between the profits which Enemalta used to make through its hedging policy and the €800 million debt which the corporation accumulated.

"The debts were accumulated over the years. The profits made were due to hedging policies in order to provide stability. The two are unrelated."

7:12pm Replying to Azzopardi's questions, Mercieca denied having ever witnessed external pressure exerted on the FPC to influence decisions.

7:09pm Mercieca says that until 2011, no written policy existed. Asked to explain how the committee functioned, Mercieca says that everyone was used to role and followed a practice which had been going on for years.

She also says that the Roderick Chalmers Report were recommendations for a hedging policy.

6:59pm Mercieca confirms that during 2011, Enemalta carried a profit of €75 million. However, she points out that this had been separate from the 2010 Austin Gatt email setting a hedging policy. Prompted by PAC chairman Jason Azzopardi, Mercieca says that as far as she can say, she never noticed any suspicious behaviour by members of the Fuel Procurement Committee.

Mercieca was an observer on the FPC between 2008 and 2011 before becoming the FPC's secretary in 2011.

6:54pm Good evening and welcome to this evening's session of the Public Accounts Committee with Enemalta's Risk Financial Manager Janice Mercieca.