Financial advisers Nexia BT, who assisted Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri in opening secret companies in Panama, have links with an air charter firm that provides jet services to the Prime Minister.
Nexia BT’s managing partner, Brian Tonna, and partner, Karl Cini, are directors of two companies that have a 25 per cent shareholding in Eurojet Ltd.
The companies are owned by two businesses with a registered address in India.
The Times of Malta reported last month that almost €1.2 million was spent on 34 private jet trips to ferry Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his delegation on official trips abroad.
The two companies were set up in January 2015 and registered at Nexia BT's San Gwann address. The Tumas Group, part of the consortium that is building the new gas-fired power station, owns the other 50 per of the shares in Eurojet.
The OPM awarded Nexia BT contracts worth €735,000 between March 2013 and this May
Tumas Group director Raymond Fenech resigned as director of Eurojet on August 10, and Raymond Sladden, also of the Tumas Group, resigned as company secretary. Former Air Malta CEO Louis Giordimaina resigned as director of Eurojet on August 11.
According to a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister, Eurojet was used 16 times from March 2013 to March 2015, and the services of Vista Jet were used 15 times from June 2015 to date.
Former energy minister Konrad Mizzi appointed Nexia BT to act as advisers to the government on the LNG plant. Soon after the award of the €420 million project to Electrogas, Nexia BT were appointed auditors of the only Maltese shareholder in the consortium, GEM Holdings, which includes the Tumas and Gasan groups.
The OPM awarded Nexia BT contracts worth €735,000 between March 2013 and this May. Most of the contracts, awarded directly without a call for tenders, were described as “advisory services”.
The OPM awarded Nexia BT Advisory Services Ltd 12 contracts, valued at €165,000. The Energy Ministry, which was headed by Dr Mizzi until April and now falls under the Prime Minister’s direct remit, gave Nexia BT Ltd and Nexia BT Advisory Services Ltd 24 contracts worth more than €570,000.
In the past three years, Nexia BT has been awarded contracts by various government ministries and entities. These included a €120,000 contract from Mater Dei Hospital, €42,000 from the economy ministry for bunkering and €17,000 from the tourism ministry for a study on public conveniences.