Rogue oil trader George Farrugia used to bribe Enemalta officials with the full knowledge and consent of all but one of his brothers, a senior police officer said in court yesterday.

Police Inspector Angelo Gafà said four of the five brothers, who were business partners and directors of the family businesses, admitted to the police they knew of the commission their brother was paying but denied knowing who was actually being paid.

He was testifying in the compilation of evidence against the Farrugia brothers who are denying involvement in kickbacks paid in connection with the procurement of oil and fuels to Enemalta.

Those arraigned are: Antonio Farrugia, 68, a mechanic from Santa Venera; Gaetano Farrugia, 65, a pensioner from Santa Venera; Raymond Farrugia, 62, a pensioner from Attard; Saviour Farrugia, 60 from Santa Venera, who said he worked for the family company; and Emanuel Farrugia, 59, a dispatcher from Żebbuġ.

All are pleading not guilty to charges of having known that their brother had been bribing Enemalta officials to secure oil contracts.

They are directors and shareholders of John’s Group and Power Plan Limited, the company through which George Farrugia used to deal in the procurement of oil.

Mr Gafà told Magistrate Miriam Hayman the police began investigating the case on January 30, 2013 when allegations of corruption surfaced in the media. These mentioned Frank Sammut, who sat on the fuel procurement committee, which was allegedly paying commissions in the form of consultancy fees that were being deposited in an HSBC account in Lugano, Switzerland.

During interrogations, George Farrugia remained silent but spilled the beans when he was granted a presidential pardon to turn State witness.

He told the police his brothers were aware of the commissions he was paying for the procurement of fuel through the company he co-owned with them, Power Plan Limited.

He recounted in detail how he was regularly bribing Alfred Mallia, then head of the Enemalta petroleum division, Tancred Tabone, then chairman of Enemalta, and Mr Sammut, who was chief executive of the Mediterranean Offshore Bunkering Company.

From left: Lawyer David Farrugia Sacco, Saviour Farrugia, 60, and Antonio Farrugia, 68, at court yesterday. Photos: Chris Sant FournierFrom left: Lawyer David Farrugia Sacco, Saviour Farrugia, 60, and Antonio Farrugia, 68, at court yesterday. Photos: Chris Sant Fournier

The payments, he said, were either in cash or cheques issued by Power Plan Limited adding his brothers had counter-signed the cheques.

Mr Gafà said that, in 2013, the police got arrest warrants for the five Farrugia brothers who were interrogated between March 3 and 5.

They all confirmed directorship in Power Plan limited and John’s Group. All brothers except one, Emanuel, said they knew their brother was paying kickbacks and commissions and admitted to approving the payment of commissions “so they were not only conscious but participating in the deal”, the witness said.

So they were not only conscious but participating in the deal

Raymond Farrugia and Saviour Farrugia, he added, also admitted signing cheques so commissions could be paid.

All brothers told the police they did not know who was getting paid.

Investigations also revealed that George Farrugia had given Mr Sammut a Korando, worth about €28,000, as a gift. The car was handed over in August 2001 and transferred to Mr Sammut’s son, Jonathan, in 2006.

All the Farrugia brothers insisted they had no knowledge about the car, except for Raymond Farrugia, who said he knew it was given to Mr Sammut and paid for by Power Plan Limited.

Mr Gafà said George Farrugia told the police all his brothers knew of the donation but the brothers denied this.

Regarding the Maltese clock given as a gift to former finance minister Tonio Fenech, Raymond Farrugia said this was prepared by his wife and it was he who asked his brother, George, to accompany him to the Mr Fenech’s house to give him the gift. He told the police that it was worth between €932 and €1,165, insisting it was “just a gift”.

The case continues today when George Farrugia is expected to testify.

Police Inspector Jonathan Ferris is prosecuting.

Lawyer David Farrugia Sacco is defence counsel.

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.