Nexia BT, whose name surfaced in the Panama Papers and in reports by the government’s anti-money-laundering agency, were engaged for financial assistance and advice by the White Rocks Development Consortium in their bid for the prime site.
Sources close to the consortium, negotiating a concession for 450,000 square metres of public coastal land with the government to be turned into luxury villas and a hotel, said yesterday the audit firm Nexia BT had prepared the financial parameters for the bid. It was also advising consortium members.
The consortium is expected to sign an agreement with the government for the development shortly.
Watch: White Rocks complex 'will not be overbuilt’
Details that have emerged over time indicate Nexia BT managing partner Brian Tonna enjoys very good relations with the top echelons of the government, particularly the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri.
Apart from acting as auditor for Mr Schembri’s private group of companies – the Kasco Group – it also emerged in the Panama Papers Mr Tonna and his partner, Karl Cini, acted as financial advisers in setting up secret companies in Panama for Mr Schembri and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi.
Mr Tonna has publicly declared he opened and owned Egrant, another secret Panama company and the subject of a magisterial inquiry. Late journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia alleged the Prime Minister’s wife, Michelle, was its ultimate beneficiary owner.
Both Dr Muscat and Ms Muscat have denied the allegation.
Asked about Nexia BT’s role, Tony Zahra, one of the shareholders in the consortium, said that neither Nexia BT nor Mr Tonna had been directly involved in the negotiations. “All discussions and negotiations have been conducted solely and exclusively by WRDC consortium members, and at no time was there any other individual or party involved in these negotiations,” he said.
Mr Zahra, also president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, insisted the consortium did not have any contractual or other obligations to any professional or other organisations. The consortium was “a private company and, therefore, whoever we appoint as consultants is a private matter and remains confidential”.
On the other hand, Mr Tonna acknowledged Nexia BT were engaged by WRDC. “Nexia BT Advisory Services were engaged as consultants by WRDC on December 2, 2015, to assist in the submission of the request for proposals at bid stage, which engagement ended on December 11, 2015, being the closing date of the submissions of proposals.
READ: White Rocks price tag remains under wraps
“Since submission date Nexia BT or any of its subsidiaries do not have any advisory role agreements with WRDC and do not currently act in any capacity as consultants or advisers to WRDC.”
Mr Tonna also confirmed his firm assisted another consortium on the same bid at the expression of interest stage prior to their professional assistance to Mr Zahra's consortium.As of yesterday, the “private company” Mr Zahra said was negotiating with the government did not appear to be listed on the Malta Financial Services Authority’s records.
In 2014, the government issued a call for expressions of interest for mixed-tourism use of White Rocks. It refuses to reveal the price the bidder offered for the prime public land. Confirming the negotiations were at an “advanced stage”, a spokesman for Economy Minister Chris Cardona, whose ministry is conducting the talks, would only say the deal had not been concluded.
Industry sources told The Sunday Times of Malta the consortium’s offer was much lower than market price. The Malta Developers’ Association also sounded the alarm over the price tag, stating it would only support the project if the government ensured it got market value for the land.
Apart from Mr Zahra, of the Alpine Group, the consortium includes a UK company run by the Livingstone brothers, the Mizzi Group, Michael Bianchi and Tal-Magħtab Construction.