Former Enemalta non-Executive Chairman Alex Tranter was this morning charged with misusing and misappropriating public funds. The prosecution is claiming that Mr Tranter, 51, from Swieqi, abused of public funds through his excessive use of entertainment and accomodation allowances. The former Enemalta chairman allegedly spent large sums of money on travel, hospitality and accommodation using a company credit card during his five-year tenure between 2005 and 2010.

Prosecuting Inspector Jonathan Ferris Ferris said he had interviewed Mr Tranter in May 2014. The former chairman said he was not involved in the day-to-day running of the corporation and would attend bi-monthly board meetings. The inspector said Enemalta's Financial Division made financial arrangements for all top corporation officials except for Mr Tranter. His credit card spending was overseen by his personal assistant, Bronia Mercieca. The Inspector also told the court that several parking tickets incurred by Mr Tranter had been paid through the company credit card.

Mr Tranter had told them that, during a Miami work trip in 2007 he had bought a Sony Vaio laptop for Lm 1,035. When he resigned his post he kept the laptop.

In August 2008, Mr Tranter withdrew £200 from an ATM in Gatwick airport. At the time Mr Tranter was not on an official working visit. He also told the investigators that he could not remember how he spent the money but it was not the first time he was on holiday and ended up attending unexpected work-related meetings.

Mr Tranter had also travelled to Brussels in July and September 2009 and claimed that all his travels were work related but there was no official Enemalta travelling during this period.

In 2010, Mr Tranter attended the International Petroleum forum in London. He was accompanied by his personal assistant and two other Enemalta officials. He and Ms Mercieca stayed in different rooms at the Hilton. Inspector Ferris said Ms Mercieca was on vacation leave and had asked to accompany the delegation because she had never been to London before. She had personally paid for her air ticket and was going to pay for the hotel, which charged at £300 a night. Two important meetings had cropped up at the same time and Ms Mercieca offered to attend one of them. Mr Tranter had then paid for her two-night stay as a sign of gratitude, using the company credit card.

During cross-examination, Dr Giglio argued that the prosecution could not prove that Mr Tranter had spent company money for his personal use. The fact that Mr Tranter was not on duty when he withdrew money from Gatwick airport does did not mean that he could not attend unexpected work-related meetings. Furthermore, the inspectors did not substantiate their misappropriation claims and had no receipts to present to the court.

The lawyer also noted that Enemalta auditors had never flagged down the issue or questioned the £200 cash withdrawal.

On the laptop issue, Dr Giglio said it was common practice for top Enemalta officials to keep their laptops after they stopped working for Enemalta. In his initial police statement Mr Tranter had explained that he was required to keep the laptop to keep in contact with his successor and, besides, the laptop could not be left behind since it contained very sensitive information.

On the third point, the defence lawyer asked the inspector whether he had issued charges against Mr Tranter for the single reason that he had seen fit to reward an off-duty employee who showed some initiative. He noted that Enemalta law allows non-Executive Enemalta chairmen to spend up to €2.3 million without requiring authorisation. They have the power to go into contracts and purchases, so why was the inspector questioning such a trivial matter which, after all, was within the remit of the chairman. The prosecution's argument was that the meeting was not scheduled, but did that mean that no one should have attended?

Lawyer Joe Giglio is appearing for Alex Tranter. Inspectors Jonathan Ferris and Ian Abdilla are prosecuting. The case continues on 17 November.