No evidence of criminal wrongdoing concerning the gift of two football tickets from oil trader George Farrugia to Malta Resources Authority director Godwin Sant was found, a court was told today.

But Supt Paul Vassallo and Inspector Jonathan Ferris from the Economic Crimes Unit also revealed that their investigations into the claims made by MaltaToday last January uncovered other reasons to arraign Mr Sant.

Among other things, investigations revealed some €400,000 worth of assets whose origin has not been satisfactorily explained, and that Mr Sant had adjudicated a GRTU contract in favour of a company he provided consultancy services for – against payment which was not declared to the authorities.

Mr Sant, a 44-year-old Naxxar resident, is pleading not guilty to bribery, tax evasion and money laundering, among other charges.

The MaltaToday article was published on 18 January and which spoke of a “cosy relationship” between Mr Sant, who served as director for energy regulation and later chief officer of energy policy at the MRA, and Mr Farrugia, who received a presidential pardon to turn state evidence on corruption in oil procurement.

The newspaper noted that in April 2009, Mr Farrugia gifted football tickets for a UK match which were sourced from Trafigura, and claimed that this could have implications on his presidential pardon.

In their testimony, Supt Vassallo and Insp. Ferris explained that on the same day, arrest warrants were issued against Mr Sant and Mr Farrugia, and Mr Sant was arrested that same day. Mr Farrugia had travelled to Italy that same day – on a trip that had been scheduled beforehand – and was arrested on his return.

Both officers noted that Mr Sant, on the advice of his lawyers, chose not to answer any questions that day, but broke his silence the next day.

Supt Vassallo said that Mr Sant described the story as a “storm in a teacup,” and that while he confirmed that Mr Farrugia had provided him with two football tickets, this had not been an attempt to buy him off.

Mr Sant had told police that he was an avid football fan who often travelled to follow matches, and that while he and his friends were trying to score tickets for Liverpool-Arsenal, a match that took place in 21 April, 2009, their usual sources came up short.

But Mr Farrugia offered to try his own sources, as oil companies often bought block tickets which they provided to clients as part of their hospitality budget, and managed to obtain two tickets, which were used by Mr Sant and his colleague Carmelo Said.

Supt Vassallo said that Mr Sant was not sure whether he paid Mr Farrugia for the tickets, and neither was Mr Farrugia himself.

But Mr Sant stressed that contrary to what had been claimed, his position within the MRA had nothing to do with the importation of oil, and this was confirmed by the authority’s CEO Anthony Rizzo.

However, the police did discover that Mr Sant accompanied Mr Farrugia on a business trip and that he prepared a presentation on hydrogen as an alternative fuel source for him. Mr Sant wasn’t paid for this work, although Mr Farrugia did cover his travelling costs and provide a per diem.

Supt Vassallo emphasised that Mr Sant did this in his private capacity as an expert in alternative energy.

But Insp. Ferris also revealed that on one occasion, Mr Sant had sent Mr Farrugia a copy of a draft legal notice concerning the storage and distribution of petrol to service stations, stressing that at this point, this was a secret document. He noted that Mr Sant used his personal email address – as opposed to his official gov.mt email – to send the draft document to evade scrutiny.

In any case, however, Supt Vassallo confirmed during cross-examination by defence counsel Edward Gatt that none of the charges filed against Mr Sant had anything to do with Mr Farrugia.

Bank account investigations raise suspicions                          

An investigation was also launched into Mr Sant’s financial history, and Supt Vassallo noted that between 2008 and 2009, there had been a number of “heavy deposits” which were unrelated to his regular income as a civil servant and his part-time income from lecturing at the University of Malta.

During his testimony, Insp. Ferris also revealed that Mr Sant was contractually obliged to seek the authority’s permission to do any outside work, but only sought and obtained such permission to lecture.

€400,000 in assets not satisfactorily explained

In his testimony, Supt Vassallo said that investigations into Mr Sant’s financial affairs raised other suspicions.

He noted that Mr Sant acquired a home worth €250,000 without resorting to a loan, an unlikely arrangement given his declared earnings. During cross-examination, he revealed that in total, there were some €400,000 worth in assets whose origin could not be satisfactorily explained.

Asked by Magistrate Aaron Bugeja whether Mr Sant could have obtained such funds through “inheritance, donations or Father Christmas,” the superintendent said that there was nothing of the sort.

In reply to queries by Dr Gatt, Supt Vassallo stressed that the law authorised the police to look into such matters, and after Magistrate Bugeja sought a clarification, he specified that the money laundering charge was linked to the €20,000 received from the Mallia brothers and the €400,000 in assets of uncertain origin.

“We asked for an explanation, but we did not get one,” he maintained.

As he was about to cross-examine Insp. Ferris, Dr Gatt asked to be provided a copy of the file the inspector was referring to during his testimony, but the inspector stressed that he could not do so because the investigations did not solely concern Mr Sant.

Ultimately, the Magistrate asked Insp. Ferris to provide only the parts relevant to Mr Sant, and delete the rest.

Lawyer Mark Vassallo also appeared for Mr Sant.