I refer to a statement made by former finance minister Tonio Fenech on October 19 where he stated that an offer of €25 million was made by the then government which was rejected by the shareholders of the National Bank of Malta.
The former minister has misinformed the public regarding the above.
There was no formal offer of €25m by Fenech on behalf of the then government, let alone a rejection of the alleged offer.
What Fenech did offer the committee representing the shareholders of the bank was a complex nine-page ‘settlement proposal’ document on March 3, 2013, with a request that it be treated with urgency as the minister wished to announce that the government had reached an agreement with the shareholders of the National Bank of Malta before election day.
The committee held an urgent meeting to discuss not only the financial and legal implications but also the morality of considering such a proposal so close to the day of the election. In view of the complexity of the document, the short timeframe prior to an election and the specific mandate given to the committee by the shareholders, the committee formally replied to Fenech on March 6, 2013, as follows:
“We have seen the offer to settle. We appreciate this offer, and would add that we have been pressing for a settlement for a good number of years.
“Naturally we would like to conclude properly. This offer is not in the simple form of a payment of compensation to each claimant but uses a mechanism which is complex and which has to be studied carefully.
“We have passed on the draft to our legal consultants, and once we have proper advice we look forward to be able to meet you in order to discuss the matter further with a view to eventually reaching an agreement on this long standing matter.”
Should the former minister wish to dispute the above he is free to do so, however there is written evidence and there are witnesses to substantiate the above-mentioned facts.
The Nationalist government was in power for 25 years and only found the wherewithal to submit a written ‘settlement proposal’ four days before the election of March 9, 2013.
Furthermore, in 2011, the then government even tried to prescribe the shareholders lawsuits – a blatant attempt to nullify the shareholders claims’ of just compensation.
I trust this clarifies the position of the shareholders committee vis-à-vis compensation.