PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami yesterday. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The Opposition yesterday accused the Prime Minister of trying to protect corrupt people in the electricity-theft racket.

“We are not interested in knowing who the account owners are,” said PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami, referring to the 1,000 accounts whose meters the government says have been tampered with.

“Justice is blind. We are interested in knowing that whoever committed an act of corruption faces justice in court, which will decide their punishment.”

Enemalta customers involved in the illegal scheme have been offered a way of avoiding criminal charges by coming forward, paying the amount due as well as a 10 per cent penalty, and providing information on those behind the racket.

“We don’t know who the Prime Minister wants to protect. What we know is that the Prime Minister has no right to interfere in police investigations and offer an amnesty to those who have corrupted public officers,” said Dr Fenech Adami.

He called on the government to say who it was trying to protect and accused Joseph Muscat of making a political calculation before waiving criminal charges against those who corrupted Enemalta officials.

Addressing a press conference, Dr Fenech Adami said the police had a legal obligation to press charges against whoever is found to have paid cash for Enemalta officials to tamper with their meters.

He said that instead of defending the honest, Dr Muscat was defending the corrupt by offering them a way out.

The PN’s spokesman on Enemalta, George Pullicino, named the five employees who have been suspended over allegations they were involved but who have not yet been charged: Louis Attard, Edward Camilleri, Anthony Pace, Alan Cachia and Anthony Mifsud.

The public had the right to know who had paid to have their meter tampered with, he said.

Instead, the government, despite knowing who the account holders were, wanted to give them an amnesty rather than have them face justice.

“Who is the government protecting? Is it true that among them are families of people in the private secretariats of members of the government? Who is the Prime Minister defending? The people have a right to know,” he insisted.

The government, he said, needed to send a message of zero tolerance of corruption and not try to protect certain people.

Under successive PN administrations, similar cases had been dealt with by the police, including one case concerning 500 people charged with bribing transport officials to obtain their maritime licence.

“We weren’t interested in who they were, as Dr Muscat is. All these people were charged and the courts decided on their cases,” he said.

Accounts chief files judicial protest

The head of accounts at Enemalta, who was suspended pending the investigation into the electricity thefts, yesterday categorically denied any involvement in the case.

Louis Attard made the denial in a judicial protest he filed against Alex Attard, editor of the Nationalist Party’s newspaper In-Nazzjon, claiming in a front page article the paper gave the impression he was the mastermind behind the tampering.

Mr Attard said he was recently notified in writing that he was being suspended pending an investigation, to which he replied he had done nothing wrong. He intended to contest any allegation against him, both administratively and in court, and reserved the right to take further legal action. Lawyer Edward Gatt signed the protest.