The smart meter scandal is threatening the future of a number of businesses that have to pay bills running into thousands of euros.

Informed sources said some SMEs that had owed up to the theft had problems paying the outstanding amounts, plus a fine and interest.

Enemalta CEO Frederick Azzopardi told Times of Malta the corporation was willing to strike deals that would allow the businesses involved to remain open while repaying the outstanding bills.

“My intention is to recoup the money owed to the corporation, not to make life impossible for business owners or to see them going bust,” he said.

One possibility, he explained, would be to offer repayment terms spread over a number of years to give some breathing space to businesses that would otherwise be crippled as a result of their own wrongdoing.

While acknowledging that such an arrangement might not prove to be popular, as the corporation could be perceived as taking a soft stance with the big fish, he said adopting extreme measures could be counter productive.

More in Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.