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Updated | New fraud investigation at fisheries department
Police investigation into misappropriation of public funds from Fisheries Department
19 February 2014, 12:00am
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
1 min read
The parliamentary secretariat for agriculture and animal welfare has confirmed an ongoing police probe on officials from the Fisheries Department, over allegations of the misappropriation of monies owed to the government.
The investigation was launched following an audit by the Internal Audit and Investigations Departments within the Office of the Prime Minister, which suggested the existence of fraud stretching back a number of years.
A spokesperson for the Minister of the Environment, under whose wing one finds the parliamentary secretariat for fisheries, did not deny reports that the alleged misappropriation of funds could be linked to the fish importation controls that fall under the fishing and aquaculture regulation and control unit, as well as that the key person under investigation could be a senior departmental official.
Various fish importers are known to be collaborating with the police on the same issue. This was not denied by the ministry spokesperson.
The police investigation was requested by the parliamentary secretary back on 4 February.
"The government is taking seriously any allegations where public officials are involved in fraud or corruption rackets - we are committed to catching the main culprits in such cases, and our appeal goes to the public to come forward with any information."
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What about trawling within the Exclusive Conservation Zone?
Is this not wide scale fraud?
This is the position before joining the EU:
Fisheries Regulations 1934
14. It shall not be lawful for any steam or motor propelled
vessel or trawler, as well as for sailing vessels, to shoot or tow any
kind of nets within the territorial waters of these Islands; neither
may the method of towing a trawl between two power driven
vessels (paranze) be practised within the said territorial waters.....
CHAPTER 226
TERRITORIAL WATERS AND CONTIGUOUS
ZONE ACT
(2) For the purposes of the Fisheries Conservation and
Management Act and of any other law relating to fishing, whether
made before or after this Act, the territorial waters of Malta shall,
with respect to the exercise of sovereign rights for the purpose of
exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the living and,
or non-living natural resources therein, extend to all other parts of
the open sea within twenty-five nautical miles from the baselines
from which the breadth of the territorial waters is measured, and,
for the purposes aforesaid, jurisdiction shall extend accordingly.......
This is the position after joining the EU:
Only vessels smaller than 12 m are allowed to fish within the zone, since these are considered as boats which practice small scale coastal fishing and which are therefore least harmful to the ecological regime within the zone. YET BY EXCEPTION trawlers up to 24 m are allowed to fish within the zone........
So we pushed the traditional luzzu out to make way for destructive industrial trawlers!
Is there a definition for this kind of fraud? Will the present government do something about it to stop the devastation and the total collapse of the industry?
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Iehor ?? jien kont nahseb li f'dipartimenti tal finanzi biss hemm ic-cajt, imam mill jidher f'kull rokna hemm l-intiena. Mela kelna Gvern li hlief frodi ma isirhux?? Il-Huta il Kbira x'ser jigri minnha??? tibqa il-Parlament, jew dawk allat li had ma jista ghalihom????
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Oh no, not another scandal? How many scandals can this government come up with? We always knew that Malta is one of the most corrupt countries in the EU and now we can prove it? I remember when customs agents used to pass CERTAIN people from behind the check points.Or when CERTAIN people used to be upgraded from Economy to Business class because they knew somebody? And how do we think that all those illegal boat houses got to be built without the proper permits? How did it happen that certain developers were allowed to add a storey or two to a building without the proper permits? How do you think that some Conglomerates are allowed to build illegal structures on their property without permits? Corruption in Malta has been here from whenever and it seems there is no slowing down. As usual when these illegalities are discovered, there is a bit of commotion and the next day we forget what the commotion was all about. We are Maltese and we do as we please. Nothing ever changes.
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Jidher li ma konniex neqsin mill-praspar. Tal-misthija l-wirt li hallew warajhom. Kulhadd kien jaghmel li jrid.
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MORE AND MORE PROOF THAT FRAUD AND CORRUPTION HAD BEEN INSTITUTIONALISED UNDER PN GOVERNMENTS !
