Enemalta has asked the police to investigate a missing employee file that belonged to its former finance chief Pippo Pandolfino, Times of Malta has learnt.
The discovery that the file was missing was prompted by questions this newspaper sent to Enemalta yesterday about Mr Pandolfino’s contract of service.
When appearing in front of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee last week, Mr Pandolfino admitted having taken confidential documents and a computer after leaving Enemalta in 2009.
Mr Pandolfino said he got permission from then CEO Karl Camilleri to keep the information. Mr Camilleri had also retained his computer after leaving Enemalta and was granted permission from then chairman William Spiteri Bailey.
This newspaper wanted to know whether the two officials’ contracts of service had a confidentiality clause that would not have allowed them to keep their computers.
But Enemalta said Mr Pandolfino’s personal file could not be located with the rest of the company’s employee files.
“When the corporation’s administration was informed about this missing file, the Ministry for Energy and the Conservation of Water was notified immediately. The corporation also asked the police to look into the matter,” she said.
Enemalta confirmed that Mr Camilleri’s contract of service did contain a confidentiality clause.
However, the company stopped short of saying whether the waiver granted by the chairman at the time was enough to exonerate an employee from confidentiality and whether further action was warranted.
The spokeswoman said Enemalta was conducting an internal audit that included matters related to “information protection” and any action would only be contemplated after it was completed.
“Once the internal audit is completed, the corporation’s administration will be assessing the findings and if necessary request further inquiries,” she said.
Enemalta had created an internal task force to evaluate the findings of the National Audit Office’s audit into Enemalta’s oil procurement between 2008 and 2011.
The company’s internal audit had to ensure that any shortcomings highlighted by the NAO report were tackled and any measures proposed evaluated and implemented as required.
However, after MPs started probing the NAO’s findings by hearing the testimony of key former officials, Enemalta widened the scope of the audit to include matters arising during the PAC hearings.
Before a parliamentary committee, Mr Pandolfino produced two voluminous files with documentation that belonged to Enemalta, which he described as “sensitive”.
Probe to tackle shortcomings
This raised eyebrows among MPs who could not understand how he had held on to the documents after his five-year term as chief financial officer came to an end.
After leaving Enemalta in 2009 Mr Pandolfino joined Island Bunker Oils, which was part-owned by ex-Enemalta chairman Tancred Tabone.
Earlier this year three of Island Bunker Oils’ directors, including Mr Tabone, were charged with bribery of Enemalta officials.
On the other hand, Mr Camilleri admitted in Parliament that after leaving the corporation he asked George Farrugia, an oil trader, for advice to build a list of contacts in the oil industry.
Mr Farrugia represented French oil firm Totsa and was implicated in the oil bribery scandal that hit Enemalta earlier this year. He was given a presidential pardon to tell all on the alleged corruption that characterised Enemalta’s oil procurement process.
Several former Enemalta officials have been charged in court.