Finance Minister Tonio Fenech yesterday admitted meeting George Farrugia on at least two occasions but insisted he had little recollection of the episodes.
He was reminded of the meetings yesterday morning when, at his request, he met Police Commissioner John Rizzo and got an opportunity to confront Mr Farrugia.
Addressing a press conference at the PN headquarters in Pietà, Mr Fenech stressed there were no discrepancies between his statement and that of Mr Farrugia, who has been granted a presidential pardon on condition that he says the whole truth on the Enemalta oil scandal.
Mr Fenech insisted that Labour’s Evarist Bartolo lied when he claimed Mr Farrugia gave the minister a gift worth more than €5,000 soon after Enemalta was placed under his ministerial portfolio in February 2010.
However, he acknowledged that Mr Farrugia had accompanied his brother, Ray, to the minister’s flat in Balzan where they delivered a replica of a Maltese clock. The visit followed a brief encounter with Ray Farrugia some time before.
The clock, said Mr Fenech, was handcrafted by Ray Farrugia’s wife and was given to him as a sign of her “admiration”. It was not a gift from George Farrugia, he stressed.
Mr Fenech said he only recalled Ray Farrugia being at his home but did not dispute that his brother, George, had also joined him, as was said in the police statement.
“They only stayed for a few minutes, just to give me the gift,” he said, stressing that this did not breach the minister’s code of ethics because the clock was “only as valuable as the raw material used”.
Mr Fenech said Ms Farrugia was a hobbyist who gave out such clocks freely to several people.
“I was told that this wasn’t even the nicest once because it was one of the first she made,” joked Mr Fenech, adding that he would gladly sell it for €5,000, though he did not mean to be disrespectful.
Mr Fenech could not explain why Mr Farrugia felt the need to tell the police about the gift but said it could have followed a particular question.
Asked whether he had ever met the Farrugias again, Mr Fenech said that George Farrugia told the police they had also met at the Finance Ministry on another occasion. This time, Mr Farrugia was complaining about having been rejected on a tender related to the privatisation of the energy sector, said Mr Fenech.
“I do not have any recollection of this meeting. But he mentioned this occasion and said he had come to complain about being rejected. My response was that there was nothing to do about it because there was a process that must be followed.”
Asked if there was anything else in Mr Farrugia’s police statement that could embarrass him, Mr Fenech replied: “Absolutely not”.
Mr Fenech refused a request by The Times to photograph the clock.
Contacted by The Times about the case, the Police Commissioner categorically refused to give any such information to the press.
“It is not prudent that I speak while there is an ongoing investigation. If you have any questions put them to Mr Fenech,” he said.
When told Mr Fenech had made a statement about the confrontation with Mr Farrugia, Mr Rizzo said: “I don’t care... so what? I told you it is not prudent for me to speak.”
What does the ministers’ code of ethics say about gifts?
“No minister should accept gifts or services such as might be deemed to create an obligation, real or imaginary. The same rule applies to the spouse of a minister and to his minor children. The same rules that apply to gifts from representatives of other governments are applicable in these cases as well.”