Times inquiry: Hillman approached for ‘amicable’ solution

Allied Newspapers are reportedly seeking some form of settlement with their former managing director Adrian Hillman, after an internal board inquiry finalised its report into allegations of graft made against its former employee.

MaltaToday is not aware of the contents of the report, which was compiled by the inquiry’s chairman Judge Giovanni Bonello.

But a lawyer for Hillman, who resigned immediately after the inquiry was set up back in March by the Allied Newspapers board of directors, said his client had still not yet received a copy of the report.

“To date, Adrian Hillman does not yet have either the terms of reference to this enquiry, nor has he seen the report. We have requested this report but have now been informed that he is not entitled to see the report.

“All I can say is that the company called on Tuesday to discuss an amicable way forward.”

Allied Newspapers said it was not in a position when it was put to them whether the amicable way forward included a form of settlement to prevent any further litigation on the matter.

Hillman’s lawyer has refused to confirm or deny that an out-of-court settlement will be discussed.

It was only on Friday that Allied Newspapers announced that the internal inquiry report had been presented to its board of directors, just a week after Giovanni Bonello himself was appointed as chairman of the Strickland Foundation – the majority shareholder of Allied Newspapers.

The foundation owns 78% of Allied Newspapers and has a seat on the board of directors.

“I find it strange that a statement was issued now, when another meeting is scheduled for next week,” Hillman’s lawyer said, referring to Allied Newspaper’s statement that the report had been finalised.

The Hillman inquiry was prompted after allegations made by Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia – who at the time was in possession of Panama Papers documentation released by the International Consortium for Investigative Journalists – that Keith Schembri, today the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, had paid kickbacks to Hillman and influenced The Times’s coverage of the 2013 election.

Neither Hillman nor Schembri appeared before the board of inquiry, which included lawyer Kevin Dingli, former Deloitte chief executive Paul Mercieca, and PricewaterhouseCooopers senior partner Kevin Valenzia. The newspaper understands that none of the allegations were forwarded to the police.

Offshore allegations

The allegations instantly led to an internal inquiry set up by Allied, and immediately prompted Hillman’s resignation.

From documentation released after the inquiry was set up, the allegations appear to have been borne from the fact that both Hillman and Schembri – whose company Kasco was a supplier of newsprint for Allied Newspapers – had set up offshore companies in the British Virgin Island roughly at the same time.

Both men and another businessman, Pierre Sladden, converged in the unfolding saga centering around the €30 million printing press built for Progress Press, which is owned by Allied Newspapers, publishers of The Times.

The allegations have been denied by both Schembri and Hillman.

But what emerged was that both Schembri and Hillman had set up BVI offshore companies, respectively in January and May 2011, both handled by the same middleman: the Californian Michael del Vecchio, an agent for Mossack Fonseca, the Panamanian law firm.

Del Vecchio set up Schembri’s BVI company Colson Services, and then he set up Lestor Holdings Group for Adrian Hillman.

Progress Press, whose Global Web Systems G-145 Printline was also provided by the Kasco group after winning a tender, was finally inaugurated in July 2011.

A third businessman, Pierre Sladden, the owner of Redmap Construction, also featured in the Panama Papers. Redmap had been subcontracted for the redevelopment of the derelict factory acquired by Allied Newspapers to house the printing press.

In November 2013, he set up the BVI company Blue Sea Portfolio.

According to the Australian Financial Review, Sladden’s company Redmap Constructions had a €900,000 debt constituted for a Cyprus company called A2Z Consulta, to pay for the “provision of services consisting in quality checks and negotiation with suppliers”.

A2Z Consulta, it turned out, was jointly owned by Blue Sea Portfolio, Colson Services, and Lestor Holdings.