The head of the Security Service, Michael Cassar, told the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee this evening that he was the first to broach the idea of a presidential pardon to oil trader George Farrugia during investigations into the oil procurement scandal.

Mr Cassar, who was assistant police commissioner at the time, said the pardon was needed because he was sure Mr Farrugia could give information to the police, and the police needed to know if there was corruption in oil procurement after 2005.

At the beginning of the sitting Mr Cassar spoke on how he was involved in the oil procurement investigations along with Superintendent Paul Vassallo and Inspector Angelo Gafa'.

He said that although he was told by the Police Commissioner that George Farrugia was to be granted a presidential pardon, the issue had started while he and Inspector Gafa were questioning Mr Farrugia.

Mr Farrugia would not admit to wrongdoing, even when confronted with evidence. With the 48-hour time limit of his arrest looming, Mr Cassar said that after he had heard the prime minister say on the media that he was prepared to give a conditional pardon for information on the oil procurement scandal, he raised the subject with Mr Farrugia.

The pardon was needed because if was clear from body language that Mr Farrugia had information to give. At the time the police had nothing as evidence against Mr Farrugia.

Mr Cassar said he had told Mr Farrugia that the police were not interested in information about Tancred Tabone and Frank Sammut but about whether there had been corruption since 2005.

Mr Farrugia asked what procedure would be followed for a pardon, and he was told to speak to a lawyer.

Two days later Mr Farrugia's lawyer, Franco Debono, contacted the police and said he was interested in the pardon. Mr Cassar said he informed the Police Commissioner and matters continued from there but he was not involved in the conditions of the pardon.

It subsequently resulted that there was no corruption after 2005. 

Asked if Mr Farrugia had spoken the whole truth after the pardon, Mr Cassar,after a pause, said that what Mr Farrugia had disclosed was true. While there could be doubts, there was no evidence which contradicted him.

However the purpose of the pardon was to reveal whether there had been any corruption since 2005.

The police, Mr Cassar said, could easily secure a conviction for what had taken place before 2005. The police wanted to be sure that no corruption took place after 2005, when Tancred Tabone was no longer Enemalta chairman.

Replying to further questions by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici, Mr Cassar said the police had sufficient evidence of what went on between 2001 and 2005, including information by Mr Farrugia.

Asked about the questioning of former ministers, Mr Cassar said Austin Gatt was questioned about matters stated by George Farrugia. Dr Gatt confirmed that he knew Mr Farrugia but never spoke to him about oil procurement or about the oil trading company Trafigura, which was headed by George Farrugia. The minister had denied knowledge of Mr Farrugia's claim that he had given Lm2,000 to his (the minister's) son. Mr Cassar could not recall if the minister was questioned about references to 'Aust' and AG in e-mails to Mr Farrugia. The interview, he said, had only lasted a few minutes.

Mr Cassar said Mr Farrugia had himself told the police that the references to Aust and AG referred to the minister, but he never said that he spoke to the minister about oil purchases. The two had discussed the privatisation of the petroleum division.

Mr Cassar said the police also questioned Finance Minister Tonio Fenech and organised a face to face 'confrontation'  with George Farrugia. The Police Commissioner was present. Nothing new had emerged and the two had not contradicted each other.

Asked about other people who should have faced charges, as indicated in the investigators' report, Mr Cassar said the reference was to Tim Waters an employee of Trafigura and the Farrugia brothers (all directors of Trafigura) except Emanuel Farrugia who, Mr Cassar said, was not a party of what had been going on. In the Farrugia brothers case, the police had just been awaiting some bank documents to confirm their information.

Mr Cassar said he did not know why they had not been arraigned as he was later taken off the case.

Replying to questions by Jason Azzopardi and minister Bonnici,, Mr Cassar said ministers Gatt and Fenech had turned up immediately after they were asked by the police.

The sitting was then concluded.