The Daphne project is reporting that the Libya-Malta-Europe fuel smuggling ring run by Darren Debono, Gordon Debono as well as Libyan and Sicilian associates linked with the mafia earned the operation up to €82 million in just one year.

 It is being reported that the €82 million was made by the Debono Group through selling to just one single Italian buyer.

The Times of Malta, which is part of The Daphne Project, is reporting that hundreds of Italian financial police files, corporate documents, marine data and UN reports, as well as corroborative interview were carried by Investigative Report Project Italy (IRPI) and the same newspaper over the last few months. The material reportedly shows how a multi-million business, “which is believed to be ongoing is carried out under Maltese authorities’ noses”.

In response to questions about the leaked files and the ongoing operation, the Police are quoted as responding that they could not do anything about the operation because the smuggling happens outside Malta’s territorial waters.

Italian police believe however that this is not the full truth, as the tankers are filled in Libya primarily make ship-to-ship transfers at the edge of Hurd’s Bank, a shallow area on the periphery of Maltese territorial waters which is in control of Malta.

The Daphne Project reports seeing marine surveillance logs, which show how tankers owned by Gordon or Darren Debono, including the Barbosa Star, Sea Master X and Amazig F, were observed either transferring illegal shipments onto larger tankers at Hurd’s Bank or directly emptying their shipment into a dolphin in Marsa, right in the middle of the Grand Harbour. It is believed that the dolphin is connected to the Has-Saptan storage facilities, which were reportedly leased to the Swiss Kolmar Group AG.

 Reports continue to say that the same marine surveillance logs show the same tankers, belonging to the Debonos, empty fuel into the storage tanks of the Maltese San Lucian Oil Company in Birzebbuga.

 Involved parties

Italian investigators reportedly believe that Libyan fuel was smuggled out of the country through assistance from the militia controlled by Ben Khalifa, a business associate of Darren Debono.

The story goes on to say that oil refineries near a port city of Zuwara, in Libya’s northwest corner, was under the control of Khalifa. This provided direct access to divert road tankers filled with refined diesel to Libyan ports.

The Daphne Project says that at this point, fishing boats which contain large storage tanks were used, taken out to sea and small tankers owned by the Debonos would lay in wait for ship-to-ship transfers.

Italian investigators reportedly identified many small tankers which were involved in the operations. The fuel then makes its way through mainland Europe through more conventional channels.

Kolmar Group AG and San Lucian Oil Company Ltd did not reply to The Daphne Project’s questions at the time of publication.

Italian investigators are said to have found a third channel by which Libya’s smuggled oil is moved through Malta, all thanks to the help of wiretap recordings configured by the Italian Police.

Through the recordings, Italian police are said to have found how ships owned by the Debonos were used to unload smuggled fuel to a vessel at sea after which the small tankers are quickly sent back ti Libya.

The Daphne Project reports that a vessel owned by two Gozitan brother appear to operate as a floating fuel station in Malta’s territorial waters.

Stop and search

Local fishing cooperatives based in Marsaxlokk are reported as having complained that Gordon and Darren Debono’s ship-to-ship transfers happened without any disturbance or check-ups by the police, and that their ships were allowed to dock at two bunkering facilities in Marsa and Birzebbuga without being checked either. It is reported that the customs department never even checked the vessels.

Italian investigators are said to also have found that a company owned by Gordon Debono named Potroplus was used to forge certificates which certify the origin of their fuel shipments.

The Times of Malta reports that the fake certificates say the oil originated from Saudi Arabia. Those certificates are sent to the Maltese-Libyan Chamber of Commerce, where a cooperative worker would certify their authenticity.

Worse still, it is being reported that the Italian police believe the forged certificates are moving through a Maltese notary and even a certifier at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Malta.

A spokesperson from the Foreign Affairs ministry is quoted as saying that the certifier is tasked with certifying the notarised documents and not the authenticity of the certificate itself.

The Daphne Project is a collaboration between 18 media organisations in 15 countries which seeks to continue the work of Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was murdered in a car bomb explosion last October. The project is being coordinated by French NGO Forbidden Stories.