Police investigate misuse of funds by former chairman

Former Enemalta chairman Alex Tranter is being investigated by the police, MaltaToday reported on Sunday.

Tranter, appointed chairman of the state utility corporation by Nationalist minister Austin Gatt in 2005, is the subject of a parallel investigation by the Enemalta internal audit office over an alleged misuse of funds.

This newspaper has been told that investigators have focused on a sizeable chunk of expenditure that is “clearly unrelated to Enemalta work”.

While police are working on audit work carried out by Enemalta’s internal office, MaltaToday is informed that matters of concern being flagged were the use of three cars for his private use.

The most noteworthy investigation is being carried out on an exorbitant expenditure spree while travelling abroad – expenses which were covered by his Enemalta credit card. The investigation is looking into whether all the expenses were justified or linked to Enemalta work.

Investigations flagged a profligate preference for luxury hotels across Europe and the US – one hotel of which was said to have cost €1,500 in total expenses for the day – as well as his other expensive restaurant meals placed on the Enemalta bill.

 Tranter was chairman of Enemalta during which time the controversial decision to choose Danish firm BWSC for the supply of new turbines for an extension to the Delimara power station was taken.

His conflict of interest – he was a business partner of BWSC’s local agent Nazzareno Vassallo, of Vassallo Builders Group – was ignored by the investments ministry at the time. Tranter however did not attend board meetings discussing the BWSC tender.

Throughout his Enemalta chairmanship, Tranter was a director of Vassallo Builders subsidiaries Caremalta, LBM Breweries and Vassallo Joiners, and a co-shareholder in software company Makeezi with Vassallo Builders itself.

Tranter resigned as chairman in February 2010 when finance minister Tonio Fenech took over Enemalta: MaltaToday had then revealed Tranter was a director of Sunray Malta, a company sold to US solar power giant SunPower for €200 million and which was in partnership with Vassallo Builders Group in an expression of interest to provide the government with 75,000 square metres of solar panels.

Tranter returned in the public eye as a witness in the Public Accounts Committee hearings on the procurement of oil supplies by Enemalta, held shortly after MaltaToday broke the story of kickbacks paid on the supply of oil consignments to Enemalta.

When asked about the Auditor General’s report that flagged serious shortcomings on fuel procurement during his time, Tranter admitted that there was cause for concern on the findings.

“It doesn’t mean that this report never affected me, or that I was comfortable with me not being able to talk about it. It cast a doubt on many people who gave a lot of their time to Enemalta, work which we did in the best interest of Enemalta. I respect the recommendations. Enemalta has evolved, and yes more evolution is needed. If I appear relaxed doesn’t mean I’m comfortable. Because I am highly uncomfortable with this report.”

He also told the PAC that Austin Gatt had asked him to accept the post of chairman as successor to Tancred Tabone – now facing criminal charges of bribery as one of six people indicted on the alleged fuel kickbacks. “This came as a surprise to me,” he recounted during that PAC hearing, in which he revealed that Gatt was a family relation of his wife’s.

He had described Gatt as his “boss” throughout his chairmanship. “My boss was the minister. Things related to risk management and fuel procurement, I used to refer to minister and Enemalta board. Through emails I would inform him of who won [fuel contracts] and which decisions were taken. In hindsight, I now think I should have included that information in the sealed envelope.”