The financial benefits used to lure US currency printing company Crane to Malta are “secret and confidential”, a spokeswoman for Malta Enterprise has said.

The Sunday Times of Malta asked for a list of all the incentives offered to Crane Currency in order to make their $100 million investment.

The request was prompted by questions raised over Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri’s role in the investment, after he admitted a company in his Kasco Group may be tasked with servicing the Komori printing machines that may be used by Crane Currency. Kasco Group has been the sole distributor of Komori for the past eight years.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat described Mr Schembri as the “catalyst” behind the Crane Currency deal but said he played no role in the actual negotiations. He dismissed the suggestion that his chief of staff had a conflict of interest as a potential beneficiary.

The spokeswoman for Malta Enterprise said Crane Currency could benefit from incentives under the Business Promotion Act and the Malta Enterprise Act. But the law deemed any documents and information as “secret and confidential”, she added.

Crane Currency’s CEO Stephen DeFalco said the project had gone from an idea to a fully-developed plan “in just six months”. He described the government and Malta Enterprise as “the most responsive team I have had the pleasure to work with”.

Crane indicated during the signing of the deal on September 21 that a large part of the investment would be spent on buying equipment for its new facility in Malta.

Mr Schembri said in a statement last week that Kasco Group would not be supplying any of the equipment to Crane Currency.

A spokesman for Crane said no deal had been struck with Mr Schembri for the purchasing of new printing equipment and they would not need third parties or agents to assist in the process.

jacob.borg@timesofmalta.com