The former Enemalta director at the centre of a police investigation into cash-for-fuel-tender allegations had faced similar accusations in 1993, when he was exonerated by the corruption watchdog.
The Permanent Commission Against Corruption had investigated a letter which claimed that the former CEO of the Malta Oil Bunkering Company (MOBC) received payments in a foreign bank account, from the Swiss firm Tempo, which used to bid successfully for oil Enemalta contracts.
The claims from 20 years ago are similar to the allegations published on Sunday by Malta Today, which reported that Dutch commodities company Trafigura had in 2004 deposited regular payments into a Swiss bank account traceable to Frank Sammut.
The 1993 letter, which was signed Francis Sammut (Mr Sammut’s formal name is Francis), landed on the commission’s desk after it was flagged by the corporation’s then chairman Godfrey Leone Ganado.
The commission attempted to establish if this namesake existed but concluded that he did not and on that basis assumed the letter was anonymous.
The person writing claimed to have received by mistake correspondence from Tempo which was meant for Frank Sammut, the man under investigation.
“(The letter) made little sense to me despite the fact that it confirmed the transfer of money into a certain (foreign bank) Account No... But when I recently read that the same Frank Sammut was a consultant at Enemalta, that is when I started to smell a rat.”
The letter then listed a number of facts, such as that Mr Sammut was involved with Medina Surveys Ltd which carries out surveys on oil on behalf of a UK company. The Times confirmed he was a director and shareholder but the company has since been liquidated.
It also pointed out that Mr Sammut was a member of the oil procurement board and that Tempo had successfully bid for a number of contracts.
However, the Commission said it could not find any indication that proved the claims which, it said, were “lacking proof”.
Mr Sammut had dismissed the allegations outright and, when Tempo won contracts, it did so because it was the cheapest bidder, the commission pointed out.
Since oil, particularly at the time, was bought on the spot market through quotations, this could give rise to situations where an official colluding with a bidder could leak the rival bids during the bargaining process.
Moreover, acknowledging its lack of expertise on the subject at hand, the commission suggested that independent consultants should review the system to flag any flaws and make recommendations.
Earlier this week, the Government said that Mr Sammut has not been on the oil procurement board since 1998. He was a member of the fuel procurement committee between 1987 and 1998, including under Alfred Sant’s two-year Labour Administration, and an Enemalta director between 1987 and 1990.
He then became a consultant to Enemalta’s chairman and to the board on petroleum and gas between 1992 and 1994.
He returned to that position in 2003, under the chairmanship of Tancred Tabone, who was also questioned by police, along with other key Enemalta officials.
Efforts to contact Mr Sammut and Mr Tabone for a reaction have proved futile.
mmicallef@timesofmalta.com