[WATCH] War of words between Commission president and John Dalli

The Attorney General has passed on an investigative report compiled by the EU's anti-fraud office OLAF into €60 million bribery attempt by a Maltese businessman, to the police.

The EU's former health commissioner John Dalli, who is alleged to have been aware of the advance to snus producers Swedish Match by Silvio Zammit, one of his canvassers, yesterday vowed to sue the European Commission in connection with his resignation over the alleged tobacco bribery scandal.

In a press conference to journalists in Brussels, Dalli was also asked about a 10 February meeting he is alleged to have held with a young, female Maltese lawyer - whose identity is so far unknown - who met him with Zammit to discuss the EU's legislation on snus.

The meeting - a first one took place on 6 January 2012 - is believed to be the day when Zammit suggested the bribe to reverse the snus ban. But Dalli claims he was unaware that the lawyer was a lobbyist for Swedish Match, as claimed by the Swedish company who filed the complaint to the European Commission back in May.

"When I'm in Malta I meet everybody. I talk to anyone who wants to talk to me," he said, attempting to explain how Malta was a small island where such meetings do not tend to be difficult to negotiate or set up. "It's a small place of 410,000 people... it's not 50 million."

Swedish Match's vice-president Patrik Hildingsson says he hired the lawyer to try to reach Dalli over the proposed ban on snus, which cannot be sold outside Sweden - the country has an EU dispensation since 1992. After the 10 February meeting, Dalli is alleged to have left the room, whereupon Zammit then asked for the bribe. The company says it reported the incident to the Swedish government three days later, and then approached the Commission in May.

Another issue of contention centres around Dalli's resignation and his challenge to the Commission.

Although Dalli stepped down last week and is said by the European Commission to have given his oral resignation to EC president José Barroso and his chief of cabinet and DG of legal services, Dalli claims he was forced to resign.

Dalli told journalists that, while denying any wrongdoing or the "circumstantial evidence" which OLAF said shows he was aware of Zammit's bribe offer, ostensibly to reverse an export ban on Swedish snus, he had no choice but to leave the Commission.

The former commissioner however claims he has not effectively resigned since Barroso did not offer him a written request with the basis for his resignation, and that he in turn has not given his resignation in writing. The EC says a written request for resignation is not necessary and that Dalli's resignation is effective, with Malta having already nominated foreign minister Tonio Borg for the health and consumer policy portfolio.

Journalists in Brussels yesterday queried Dalli why had decided to leave the Commission when he was standing by his innocence in the whole matter:

"We spent an hour repeating the same things, one saying I should resign, the other [Dalli] saying I should not resign," Dalli said of the meeting with Barroso. "There was no choice. The door was open: it was either walk out or be thrown out," Dalli said, giving the impression he did not wish to be sacked by Barroso.

"I couldn't do otherwise. I don't have any right not to let him use his prerogative [to dismiss him]."

Dalli was also asked whether, in the light of the allegations thrown up by OLAF's investigation, he felt his position was tenable given that he was about to table a reviewed Tobacco Products Directive that included, amongst other things, retaining the snus ban.

"I maintain there is no proof whatsoever... I believe there was no reason for me to be made to resign.

Dalli has cast himself as a victim of a scheming tobacco industry that orchestrated his downfall in order to kill the tobacco directive. "I was treated the way I am because I didn't succumb to any pressure from the tobacco industry."

He also tried to curry favour with MEPs to his cause, which he is making clear will not go ignored. OLAF, which says it has "unambiguous" circumstantial evidence against Dalli, also said it found "no conclusive evidence" of his direct participation.