The Head of the EU’s anti-fraud office - Giovanni Kessler – was warned that he could be arrested if he set foot in Malta, it has emerged today. The information was fed to Mr Kessler by a source who was conveying a message from former European Commissioner John Dalli.
In a letter to Speaker Anglu Farrugia, Mr Kessler also claimed that Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit turned down several requests made by OLAF to collaborate on a new investigation concerning Mr Dalli.
“On three separate occasions (on 22 October 2013, 31 March 2014 and 6 May 2014), OLAF requested Mr Peter Paul Zammit to collaborate on a new OLAF investigation concerning Mr Dalli. To date, and despite the reminders, OLAF has not received any reply from Mr Zammit, although Malta is required by law to cooperate and supply any information deemed necessary by OLAF.
(Photo: Head of OLAF, Giovanni Kessler.)
"On 19 June 2014, a source known to me informed me that during a meeting which took place on the same day in Brussels, Mr Dalli asked him to convey to me the message not to go to Malta, because I might be arrested there," Mr Kessler wrote.
In his letter, Mr Kessler gave his version of events. This is his letter in full.
“Dear Mr Farrugia,
I acknowledge receipt of the letter sent on 18th June 2014 by which the Privileges Committee of the House of Representatives invited me to attend its meeting of 4th July 2014, in Valletta, Malta. I also acknowledge receipt of the e-mail received today, 2nd July informing of the postponement of the hearing.
The Committee's letter does not specify how I could be of assistance. However, in a positive spirit of cooperation and in order to assist you, I would like to supply you with the chronological recollection of facts, to the best of my knowledge. I trust that it will be beneficial for your discussions.
• On 15th October 2012, OLAF concluded its investigation concerning the then Member of the European Commission, Mr John Dalli.
• OLAF's investigation provided evidence that Commissioner Dalli held private, irregular, meetings in Malta with representatives of the tobacco industry concerning the EU legislation on tobacco (in August 2010 and in January 2012). These meetings took place with the involvement of Mr Silvio Zammit, a Maltese restaurant owner close to the Commissioner. These events have been acknowledged by Mr Dalli during the OLAF investigation. OLAF also demonstrated that, after those meetings, Mr Zammit requested a bribe from Swedish Match in order to influence the EU legislative process on the review of the Tobacco Products Directive, using the name of the Commissioner and benefitting from the privileged position given to him. Mr Dalli remained in contact with Mr Zammit at critical moments of the illicit negotiation carried out by the latter.
Former police commissioner John Rizzo
• On 19th October 2012, OLAF transmitted by hand its final report to the Maltese Attorney General, Mr Grech, for his "consideration of further investigation and/or prosecution as appropriate". Following OLAF's transmission, the Maltese Police initiated a fully-fledged criminal investigation. On 28th November 2012 the Commissioner of Police, Mr John Rizzo, together with two Maltese investigators, Mr Cassar and Mr Gafa, came to OLAF and met with the investigators who had been in charge of this case. As it is normal in such cases, OLAF provided all the necessary support to the National Police.
• On 11th December 2012, following the Maltese investigation, Mr Silvio Zammit was "charged with bribery and trading in influence". Some days later, during a phone call, Mr Rizzo informed me that he had the intention to ask for the indictment of Mr Dalli in the framework of the same investigation. However, in line with Maltese law, such an indictment could only occur in the presence of the person to be arraigned. Since Mr Dalli was not present in Malta at the time, his indictment had to wait for his return.
• Later on, I learnt that after the Maltese legislative elections, and a few days after the return of Mr Dalli to Malta, the Prime Minister of Malta replaced Mr Rizzo with Mr Peter Paul Zammit as new Commissioner of Police on 12th April 2013. I also learnt that the two investigators, Mr Cassar and Mr Gafa, which had participated in the investigation initiated by the Maltese Police, had been replaced.
(Photo: Commissioner of Police Peter Paul Zammit)
• On 7th June 2013, Mr Peter Paul Zammit appeared on television and announced that there was not sufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges against Mr Dalli. His statement led the media and the political circles, both in Malta and in Brussels, to believe that the case against Mr Dalli had been dismissed.
• On 17th June 2013, and again on 5th July 2013, I wrote to Mr Zammit enquiring about the status of the Maltese investigation. Eventually, on 7th August 2013 Mr Zammit replied that the investigation had not been closed.
• On three separate occasions (on 22nd October 2013, 31st March 2014 and 6th May 2014), OLAF requested to Mr Peter Paul Zammit to collaborate on a new OLAF investigation concerning Mr Dalli. To this date, and despite the reminders, OLAF has not received any answer by Mr Zammit, although Malta is required by law1 to cooperate and supply the information required to OLAF.
• On 19th June 2014, a source known to me informed me that during a meeting which took place on the same day in Brussels, Mr Dalli asked him to convey to me the message not to go to Malta, because I might be arrested there.
Honourable Member, the above is what I know in all truth about the facts which might be of interest to the Privilege Committee and I trust that it will help the Committee in making progress in its work. I remain available to cooperate with the Privileges Committee including, should you deem it still necessary, by appearing before it at one of its next hearings.
(Former European Commissioner John Dalli)
I wanted to confront Kessler in Malta – John Dalli
In a press statement issued this evening, John Dalli said he wanted Giovanni Kessler to come to Malta to be able to confront him.
“I wanted to confront Kessler in Malta and would not have warned him not to come.
In view of the press statement issued by Giovanni Kessler to try and explain why he will not be coming to Malta to testify in the court case now under way because of the fraudulent report that he had made and which was used by Barroso to force my resignation, I am enclosing a letter that I had sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the 17th June 2012 wherein, apart from putting forward several points, I requested the Speaker to allow me to confront Kessler when he is testifying in Malta.
When I was in Brussels on the 19th June to meet my lawyers, I also met some journalists. I gave my opinion that with the evidence that is now coming out, Kessler might be in trouble. One of the journalist met me again later and told me that he had given Kessler this information and that Kessler told him that “they must have the tapes of the interviews with Gayle Kimberly and his conversations with the then Prime Minister of Malta.
The problems that Kessler has is the massive legal and procedural infringements that are now documented and the continued refusal to make public further information that will throw more light on his actions.
The fact is that over the last 18 months, Kessler has refused to answer questions put to him by the European Parliament, NGO’s and the ombudsman on the excuse that there is a case pending in Malta. Now he is refusing to come to testify in the same case, first under the flimsy excuse that he was not advised with enough prior notice, and then as an afterthought, that he is afraid that he will be arrested. The fact is that Kessler is afraid to answer questions. Probably he was informed about my letter from his usual contacts and was afraid to face the issues and to table the documents I requested."
(Speaker Anglu Farrugia)
his is the full letter Mr Dalli sent to the Speaker of the House:
"Honourable Speaker,
I have read in the media that the Opposition asked for Mr. Giovanni Kessler to be called as a witness in front of the Privileges Committee which is examining the ruling that you gave against Dr. Simon Busuttil, Leader of the Opposition when he failed to substantiate or withdraw comments that he made about political interference in the legal process relating to a report issued by the same Giovanni Kessler on allegations made by Swedish Match.
Over the past year and a half, Mr Kessler has been called in front of the European Parliament Budget Committee a number of times and has been evasive when asked specifics about the investigation, the report, his conduct and about the manner in which he conducted this investigation. He has also been given three sets of extensive questions in writing most of which he has avoided to answer mainly on the excuse that there are pending legal procedures in Malta or that the information is restricted and confidential.
(Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil)
As the legal procedures are still in progress I wonder whether he will change his tack to accommodate Dr. Busuttil. The question is whether Mr. Kessler is being called by Dr. Busuttil as witness to testify on the issue in question – interference – or whether he has been called in a last ditch attempt by Dr. Busuttil to buttress the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso by setting the stage for Kessler to repeat the theatrics of the press conference that he had held on the 17th October 2012 in which he threw overboard all semblance of respect for confidentiality and presumption of innocence.
If he is being called on the substance of the issue being discussed – political interference – it would be interesting to see what first hand information he has on this count.
He is supposed to have adopted a hands off attitude after he passed the report to the local authorities. However the opposite has been the case.
1. In an interview he gave to a Croatian Online Magazine reported in “in-Nazzjon Taghna” on the 23rd November 2013, Kessler parroted Dr. Busuttil in stating that there was political interference in Malta. The report carried in Malta quoted the source as coming from Hungary, showing that this piece of journalism was not a result of research by that paper’s newsroom.
Was Kessler instigated to make this interview? If so by whom? Was the report sent to “In-Nazzjon Taghna” by Kessler, someone in OLAF or someone in the Commission? The conclusion is that this interview was planted and that it found its way to the Maltese Paper through the connections that OLAF has with it. This collusion further puts a very low credibility factor to any declaration by Kessler.
2. We know from statements made by Johann Gabrielsson, an employee of Swedish Match, that OLAF was with the Maltese police when the latter visited Brussels and talked to Johann Gabrielsson. They did not interview Mr. Gabrielsson to enquire about his involvement in the plot that was devised and implemented by the Tobacco Industry and which he directed. They did not interview him to establish the truth and his motivation to report what proved to be a falsity.
They had the audacity to suggest to him to keep maintaining this false statement “not to disturb the investigation in Malta”.
They suggested to Mr. Gabrielsson, the person responsible for the efforts to influence me and the originator of the allegations that gave rise to the investigation, to continue to maintain that Dr. Gayle Kimberly had a meeting with me on the 10th February 2012 and to keep repeating the phantasmagorical report of that meeting, and which they all knew was false. Even though Kessler is still hiding the report by Swedish Match containing the allegations against me, I presume that it was on this lie that Kessler went through a phoney assessment process in such a hurried way to begin the investigation (very much a replica of the fraud committed against me in 2004). It was this lie that they tried to salvage, in one way or another in order to obtain their ordained objective.
(European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso)
OLAF had to give an excuse to Barroso to terminate me and the local collaborators were to give him comfort in front of his critics worldwide that even the local authorities in Malta found a reason to chastise me.
This is why political pressure was made in December 2012 to have the police arraign me, as reported by the press on the 16th December 2012 and as stated under oath by John Rizzo when he said that he had pressure from Parliament.
Apart from all this, Giovanni Kessler has been heavily criticised on the way he started and conducted the investigation and accused of having disregarded and breached several rules and procedures covering such investigations. A list of reasons, albeit not exhaustive, is listed in appendix 1. His resignation has been demanded repeatedly by members of the European Parliament.
Kessler has always stated that he never advanced any criminal accusations in my regard? Is he now changing the tune?
A further fact to be noted is that the European Court of Justice has appointed the 7th July 2014 for the first oral hearing of the case that I instituted against the Commission. Mr. Barroso and I are called to make our submissions and answer questions. Is the “evidence” of Mr. Kessler three days before this hearing a coincidence? Or as stated above, has Dr. Busuttil set the stage for another Kessler Theatrical Performance as he did on the 17th October 2012 when he breached all procedures of confidentiality and presumption of innocence in my regard?
At this stage therefore I request to be a party to the proceeding in the Privileges Committee as the request by the Opposition is clearly aimed at smearing me.
I am requesting that I confront Kessler when he is called to give evidence in the Privileges Committee.
I am also requesting that the Maltese Parliament orders Kessler to present the documents listed in Appendix 2 and which should be laid on the table of the house one week before his testimony so that there is enough time to go through them.
This is important information that Kessler is suppressing from me, as the victim of his actions and from all those interested in examining his conduct, and this to protect himself. This suppression of evidence is also disturbing the proper course of justice in any police investigation or court proceedings currently in progress or that may be initiated in the future.
Thank you for your consideration.
John Dalli
17th June 2014
No contact with Kessler - Gonzi
In reaction, former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that "With reference to the press statement issued today by Mr John Dalli I want to make it clear that I have never had any conversations or any form of contact whether direct or indirect with Mr Kessler, about any subject or topic whatsoever before, during and after my tenure as Prime Minister of Malta."
Only one letter received from Olaf - police commissioner
Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit said that Olaf made contact with his office only once, and this request was answered after the necessary verifications were made.
The police commissioner must abide by the law and cannot allow collection of alleged evidence not according to law.