A defence lawyer accused the man given a Presidential pardon to testify in the oil procurement scandal of making allegations about his client just because his company had lost a major contract.
Edward Gatt, who is representing Enemalta’s former financial controller Tarcisio Mifsud, said George Farrugia, who was testifying in the proceedings against his client, only mentioned Mr Mifsud after Mr Farrugia was given the Presidential Pardon.
The reason, he said, was because his client had brokered a deal for Malta between an energy company and the Italian government with Mr Farrugia losing out as a result.
Dr Gatt warned Mr Farrugia that he had been given a Presidential Pardon on condition that he told the truth.
In his evidence, Mr Farrugia recounted that he started out as an agent for Total in 1999 when Total had storage at Has Saptan and would sell to oil bunkering companies.
Mr Farrugia said he was approached by Alfred Mallia, the former head of Enemalta’s petroleum division, who wanted to see if Total would sell to Enemalta.
A deal was discussed during which Mr Mallia asked Mr Farrugia to think of him because he was not alone.
The deal went through and Total began tendering.
When Mr Mallia had a bad car accident he had told Mr Farrugia to speak to Mr Mifsud regarding the ongoing deals.
Unless commissions were paid, Mr Farrugia said, no contracts would be awarded.
Mr Farrugia said he used to pay Mr Mallia after he was paid by Total. He would make the payment at Mr Mallia’s office or home. The deal he had with Mr Mallia was to pay him half what he received from Total.
Recalling one incident, Mr Farrugia said he gave Mr Mallia Lm3,000 in an envelope.
In that particular meeting Mr Mallia had told him he had no chance to win new tenders. When he asked him why, Mr Farrugia said, Mr Mallia told him it was better that he did not get everything so that matters would seem to be above board.
Mr Farrugia told the court he used to meet Mr Mifsud at the Enemalta head office. He said he had paid Mr Mallia and Mr Mifsud a total of Lm40,000.
Mr Farrugia told the court that when Tancred Tabone became Enemalta chairman, Mr Farrugia told him he was paying Mr Mifsud, and Mr Tabone told him to stop. He said it was only later that he found out that Mr Tabone and his one-time advisor Frank Sammut also wanted money.
Mr Farrugia said that when he was being questioned by the police there was a confrontation between Mr Mifsud and himself during which Mr Mifsud had said he had never met him in his life.
This, Mr Farrugia said, was a lie because he had met him many times.
In cross examination, Mr Farrugia said his brothers knew about everything, including all the payments, which were discussed during a board meeting.
He said that he had paid for the car which was used in Mr Mallia’s daughter’s wedding.
He said he could not recall how many times he had gone to Mr Mifsud’s office at Enemalta. Mr Mifsud would phone him to tell him to go to his office to pay him, which he did.
The case continues.
Drs Franco Debono, Siedfried Cole appeared for George Farrugia.