Former Labour Tourism Minister Karmenu Vella described today how in 1996 Richard Cachia Caruana, then a director of Air Malta, met him and told him he disagreed with the other members of the board when they decided that the airline should buy RJ70 aircraft.
Mr Cachia Caruana immediately denied his claims.
In a statement, Mr Vella noted that he was included in a list of witnesses presented by Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando to the PN Executive. (See separate story)
He said he met Dr Pullicino Orlando at a social event a few days ago and described the meeting he had with Mr Cachia Caruana.
"Immediately after I was appointed Minister of Tourism, Mr Cachia Caruana, of his own volition, called to speak to me, while he was still a director of Air Malta.
"Richard Cachia Caruana referred to decisions taken by the Board of Air Malta for the purchase of a fleet of RJs and for the setting up of the subsidiary company Azzurra Air. He called to inform me that he, as a director, had not been in favour of those decisions of the Board. When I asked him, he admitted that he had not registered his disagreement.
"It became immediately apparent that Richard Cachia Caruana was not only not defending those decisions, but he appeared to be trying to distance himself from them and shifting the responsibility to the other board members.
"When I saw how he was trying to shirk collective responsibility and shift the blame on his colleagues, I felt I did not need to continue that conversation. I thanked him, and matters stopped there, Mr Vella said.
He added that he would declare all this in a sworn statement.
CACHIA CARUANA'S REACTION
In a reaction, Mr Cachia Caruana said:
"Mr Vella can take as many affidavits as he likes but that will not turn a fabrication into the truth. The minutes of the Air Malta board meetings show the decision to purchase the RJs was taken unanimously and I supported the decision completely."
"Far from trying not to associate myself with the board's decisions, the minutes show clearly that the majority of board members and I shared the same position before and after the change of government. Mr Vella is either lying or has mixed me up with someone else."