OLAF denies wiretapping, influence claims on Dalli case

The EU's anti-fraud office OLAF has rejected claims that it failed to respect fundamental rights or breached procedural rules during this investigation and in the transmission of its final report to the Maltese authorities.

OLAF denied claims by a member of its supervisory committee that it conducted wiretapping of the subjects of its investigations, or that it tried to influence the statement of Swedish Match public affairs director Johann Gabrielsson.

"All evidence was collected lawfully. OLAF denies that it has conducted wiretapping or has illegally recorded telephone conversations," the anti-fraud unit said.

A recording of Gabrielsson in conversation with Green MEP José Bové revealed that OLAF and the Maltese police 'suggested' that he stick to a public version of events that had already been belied in investigations they carried out: Gabrielsson told Bové that Maltese lawyer Gayle Kimberley had lied about being present for a meeting in which former commissioner John Dalli allegedly left the room, before his middleman Silvio Zammit requested €60 million to reverse an EU ban on the sale of snus tobacco.

On its part, OLAF said that its actions as an independent investigative body were subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

"Only the Courts have competence to determine whether or not breaches of the law have taken place. OLAF is not able to discuss these allegations in more detail since that would require the disclosure of information which is confidential while judicial proceedings are taking place in Malta," the investigators said.

OLAF's report has only been disclosed to the Maltese Attorney General, who submitted the report to the police, leading to charges of trading in influence and bribery against Silvio Zammit, 48, of Sliema.

OLAF said that selected  items of information from its confidential report had been "disclosed inaccurately, out of context and in a distorted fashion in an attempt to create a misleading impression" of the case currently under the review of a Maltese court.

"Recent press articles report on facts which are presented as new and relevant to the outcome of the investigation. Although OLAF's ability to disclose information relating to investigations is limited by law, OLAF is able to state that it was fully aware of these facts before it concluded its investigation and that its final report was drafted accordingly."

OLAF, whose director Giovanni Kessler came under pressure from German MEP Inge Graessle yesterday who called for his resignation, warned against political interference in the ongoing  judicial proceedings.