Amnesty for energy thieves is ‘biggest scandal ever’ for Labour, says PN

Nationalist MPs Beppe Fenech Adami and George Pullicino have blasted the intention by the Labour government not to have some hundreds of consumers and businesses charged with the corruption of public officials, after three Enemalta officials were charged in court on the organisation of a racket that involved tampering smart meters.

The government said it does not intend to conduct a "witch hunt" and instead allow consumers and businesses to regularise their position and pay interest and penalties, rather than face criminal steps for corrupting the Enemalta employees who organised the smart meter racket.

"We believe this is scandalous, immoral and irresponsible. It's the biggest scandal to have hit Labour in the first 10 months of its government," Fenech Adami said.

 "It's a scandal because a criminal who bribed someone to steal from Enemalta and the taxpayer will not be facing criminal steps. The Criminal Code makes bribery a criminal act. And the penalty for that is a prison sentence."

Fenech Adami also attacked Muscat for presenting legal amendments to harshen penalties for bribery, but that now he was taking steps to pardon people who bribed Enemalta officials.

"Joseph Muscat is defending criminals, in a far cry from his electoral promise to fight corruption. Instead he is helping aiding and abetting them.

"He is placing himself above a law that should be equal for all. No prime minister has the authority decide that some 1,000 people who corrupted a public official should be above the law.

"This seriously undermines the police in a democratic state: the police are obliged to take criminal steps against 1,000 people who Muscat knows who they are. Government is undermining the good work of the police, putting aside the obligation to arraign them."

Insisting the PN was not after the individuals, Fenech Adami said the citizens had a right to know who were "the criminals" who bribed the public officials.

Pullicino, the Opposition's spokesman on energy, also revealed the names of five Enemalta employees who have been suspended in connection with the investigation: Louis Attard, Edward Camilleri, Anthony Pace, Alan Cachia and Anthony Mifsud.

'Amnesty' for corruption

Yesterday, parliamentary secretary for justice Owen Bonnici reiterated government's promise not to hold consumers and businesses who acquiesced to have their smart meters tampered with, criminally liable for corrupting public officials and Enemalta employees.

"We have been given advice that paying for a mechanism to avoid paying fully for the energy consumed possibly does not equate to a bribe," Bonnici told MaltaToday.

According to Article 88 of the Electricity Supply Regulations, consumers found to have tampered with the meters, theft of electricity and unregistered consumption have to pay for the unbilled supply, plus interest and a penalty equivalent to 10% of the supply obtained illegally allowing perpetrators avoid criminal proceedings. However, the procedure introduced in 2006, makes no reference to other illegalities such as bribing Enemalta employees.

Asked why the government will not take any criminal action against consumers who admit to energy theft, Bonnici said, "This is not an amnesty, government is simply putting into action a legal provision which was enacted in the previous legislature, which enables Enemalta to recover money which was stolen to its detriment, impose penalties and obtain information from persons who come forward to regularise their position."