A Croat who has been dragged into money laundering claims is denying he was ever a business partner of Ryan Schembri, the former owner of More Supermarkets who fled the island owing millions.
“I am not a partner in this crime. I was bitten too – I’m still owed €100,000 for my services,” Igor Ulic told Times of Malta when contacted at his offices in Croatia.
Mr Ulic denied claims made by Mr Schembri’s partner, Etienne Cassar, that he had a company in Croatia together with Mr Schembri and that he was somehow involved in money laundering investigations by the Croatian authorities.
Mr Ulic said he had offered consultancy services to Cassar and Schembri Ltd, owned by Mr Schembri and his partner Mr Cassar.
The local company had employed Mr Ulic’s services to source food suppliers in Europe and South America, particularly Brazil, for the Maltese partners’ supermarket in Libya.
Mr Schembri left Malta with his wife and son towards the end of September after loan sharks threatened to hurt his child if he did not pay up.
His escape has left a trail of debt, with investors and creditors scrambling to recoup their losses.
More Supermarkets, which was taken over earlier this year by another businessman, was also dealt a blow this week as it is facing hefty unpaid electricity bills.
Mr Cassar, who remains in Malta, has always said he had no knowledge of any shady dealings until last April.
He said his business partner told him they were being investigated for money laundering by Croatian authorities because of a company Mr Schembri had set up there.
But Mr Ulic is denying this: “Etienne is claiming that Ryan had a company with me in Croatia, but we were never officially partners in Croatia or anywhere.
“My only job was to source products for them and give them good brands from ex-Yugoslavia, mainland Europe and South America [Brazil]... they used to buy meat for Libya,” he told Times of Malta.
Mr Cassar had also said he had no knowledge of the dealings in Croatia. Yet Mr Ulic says he knows Mr Cassar because he was sourcing supplies for the supermarket and distribution business the two Maltese partners had set up in Libya.
He denied Mr Cassar’s claims that there was an investigation on money laundering activities by Croatian authorities.
“That’s not true. I never had any problems with the authorities. The company is new, established in November 2013, and the turnover is not huge. It’s not that important a company to merit such an investigation,” Mr Ulic said.
He also referred to media reports saying funds were being held in Croatia: “It is all a big lie. Ryan was in Croatia maybe three times over the past 10 years.”
The Croatian consultant knew Mr Schembri over that period of time but he never had any problems until earlier this year when two containers of food products from a Belgian company, Ecofrost, went unpaid.
When I see the line of people waiting to be paid by Ryan Schembri, then I think I will never see my money again
Mr Schembri had ordered another two containers, but to safeguard his reputation with the Belgian suppliers, Mr Ulic withheld the documents needed to release the goods at the Libyan port until the first two containers were paid for.
Without such documents, goods are usually held. But to his surprise, the supplies from the second two containers were released from the Libyan port without the documentation.
At that point, Mr Ulic sent the documents back to Ecofrost, informing them about the situation. Times of Malta has seen the correspondence between him and Ecofrost, which is owed €70,000.
Before the Ecofrost deal, there had not been any problems, Mr Ulic said. The orders were made around April, the same time other investors and suppliers started to notice things were not going well for Mr Schembri.
“Before that, there were some payments to some suppliers that were late – suppliers in Croatia and the Czech Republic. But the Ecofrost order was the only one that was never paid,” Mr Ulic said.
He kept in touch with Mr Schembri, hoping he would be able to be paid back the money he was owed, but this contact ceased on September 20.
“For me, this is a huge amount even if it is nothing next to the amounts owed to others being mentioned in the Maltese media. When I see the line of people waiting to be paid by Ryan, then I think I will never see my money again,” he said.