Gonzi accuses oil scandal whistleblower of political manipulation

Freed of political office, former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi let loose in an outburst during a Public Accounts Committee grilling, alleging that the oil scandal broke during election time in January 2013 because its whistleblower wanted to turn it into a 'political football'.

This was the first time that Gonzi expressed his frustration over the timing of the oil scandal, broken by MaltaToday on 20 January 2013 when it published emails showing kickbacks paid by oil giant Trafigura to an Enemalta official.

Turning to the members of the parliamentary committee, Gonzi said the PAC could not ignore the timing of the publication of emails showing Farrugia soliciting kickbacks from Enemalta officials.

“We have to ask why this information was stowed away by someone, hidden from justice and made available only during the electoral campaign. All of you should condemn this tactic and this person must shoulder responsibility for not going to the proper authorities,” Gonzi said, accusing the whistleblower of jumping on the “political bandwagon”.

READ MORE Live-blog of the PAC sitting with Lawrence Gonzi

Today’s sitting saw MPs grilling Gonzi on the night of 8 February 2013, when the Cabinet approved a decision recommending the President of the Republic to grant Farrugia a pardon.

In reply to Edward Zammit Lewis’s questions, Gonzi said he “did not feel the need” to include in the Cabinet minutes that he knew Cathy Farrugia, Farrugia’s wife.

Taking umbrage at the question, Gonzi said it was offensive of the minister to suggest that he had recommended the pardon as “a favour” to Cathy Farrugia.

“This is the third time you’re asking the same question. No there was no need to inform them because it didn’t matter. The decision was based on the advice of the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner.

“[…] Why do you treat me in this insulting manner? The insinuation is clear. Let us address it head on. The government’s insinuation is that I issued the pardon as a favour for Cathy Farrugia. I didn’t even do the favour when she asked me to meet her husband. All these insinuations and none of you remember that in my email I had refused to meet him.”

Appearing for the third time, Gonzi defended former ministers Austin Gatt and Tonio Fenech saying that both had always acted on his instructions. In 2004, Gatt removed Tancred Tabone – charged with having accepted bribes for the supply of oil to Enemalta – as chairman of Enemalta. According to Gonzi, Tabone’s removal had nothing to do with any irregularities but with a 2004 Prime Ministerial decision to change the chairmen of key entities.

“If I knew at the time that [Tabone] was involved I would have thrown him in jail,” Gonzi said.

He defended Fenech against accusations that he did not follow up on recommendations by David Spiteri Gingell – who served as Enemalta chairman for eight months – to strengthen transparency at Enemalta.

“Fenech was acting on my instructions that we had to limit expenditure. Spiteri Gingell was asking to recruit a large number of workers but we couldn’t. We still however ensured that the necessary checks and balances were in place.”

The sitting got nasty when Azzopardi and Fenech Adami accused government MPs of wanting Farrugia’s presidential pardon to be withdrawn. The two intervened when an argument arose between Gonzi and Bonnici.

The justice minister asked the former prime minister whether he was satisfied with the outcome of the presidential pardon: “What I am not satisfied about is how things continued after my departure. I am not satisfied with the parliamentary process and I am not satisfied that the investigative team was disbanded.”

Gonzi’s comment raised the ire of government MPs as PAC chairman Jason Azzopardi went on to accuse the government of wanting “the presidential pardon to be withdrawn so that a number of persons would be absolved”.

“It is evident that the pending cases would be prejudiced, I urge the government MPs not to play to the tune of those interested for this pardon to be withdrawn,” Fenech Adami added.