An amnesty would be granted to anyone willing to reveal under oath the “full truth” behind the Enemalta oil corruption scandal, the Government said yesterday.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said he was ready to protect anyone who came forward with “relevant” information about the case.

He made the statement when asked by journalists to say whether he would reconvene Parliament urgently to enact the Whistleblowers Act in light of the recent oil corruption scandal.

“I’m not sure if we should reconvene Parliament with urgency because, either way, we have an election on March 9 then Parliament starts again,” Dr Gonzi said.

He stressed, however, that the law should be given “absolute priority” and be among the first laws to be enacted after the election.

Dr Gonzi added: “If I find out that someone wants to come forward with information I am ready to use my powers, even through an amnesty (Queen’s evidence), to protect them. Whoever has information can come forward with it and, if it is relevant, there will be protection according to law as happened in other cases.”

Later, Dr Gonzi’s spokesman specified that the Government was prepared to grant an amnesty to those “willing to testify under oath in court”.

The spokesman said this would enable the “full truth” to be revealed with regard to the alleged criminal behaviour in oil procurement by Enemalta, allowing those mainly responsible to be brought to justice.

Former PN president Frank Portelli was the first to suggest that Parliament should be reconvened early to enact the Whistleblowers Act.

“I expect this would lead to a scra-mble among the suspects to be the first to squeal and benefit from the amnesty,” he wrote on Facebook.

Dr Portelli’s proposal was publicly supported by former Nationalist MPs Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and Franco Debono, as well as by the former leader of Alternattiva Demokratika, Arnold Cassola.

A spokesman for the Labour Party only said: “The Prime Minister had five years to introduce a Whistleblowers Act. Labour will treat this legislation as priority.”

Dr Portelli was not satisfied with Dr Gonzi’s vow to grant protection to whistleblowers by providing an individual amnesty.

‘We need an Act, not an amnesty’

“The best way to protect an individual who wants to provide information is through a Whistleblowers Act not through an ad hoc amnesty.

“Protection must come through a law designed specifically to encourage whistleblowers,” he said.

“Both political parties agree that we should have one so this law should pass in an afternoon.

“God forbid we have to move in the way being suggested. We need to have a system that both parties agree with.

“We either want to fight corruption together seriously or not,” he said, pointing out that the only reason this story surfaced after 20 years was that those involved quarrelled after robbing each other.

Mr Portelli said the fact that this case remained under wraps, when it could have involved up to a billion euro, showed there were insufficient resources to fight corruption.

“The first aim of a Whistleblowers Act is that someone involved in corruption is tempted to rat the others out before they do,” he said, adding that thieves had no honour.

He said a Whistleblowers Act protected the identity of those who came forward, unlike an amnesty.

“A whistleblower could remain anonymous. With an amnesty, everyone would know who is speaking,” he added, pointing out that a whistleblower’s protection would lapse if he were caught in a simple lie and must therefore remain truthful at all times.

The Times yesterday reported that the police had enough evidence to issue charges on the oil bribery case but more people had to be questioned.

Investigators have questioned the man at the centre of the allegations, petrochemist Frank Sammut, who allegedly took kickbacks from Dutch company Trafigura for oil contracts with Enemalta in 2004.

The probe also includes Trafigura’s representative, George Farrugia, and Enemalta’s former chairman, Tancred Tabone, who was escorted to Mater Dei Hospital mid-interrogation after he fell ill.

The investigators also interviewed Minister Austin Gatt, who was responsible for Enemalta at the time, but the session was mostly an information-gathering exercise.

The final decision on who is arraigned will involve the Attorney General, particularly because of different interpretations on time-bars.

Dr Portelli yesterday also suggested that the Attorney General should freeze the assets of all the suspects involved to paralyse their activities.