The Labour Party has called for an investigation by Maltese authorities into alleged money laundering by Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri, through the Maltese company SIB Laboratories.
Local institutions, including the University of Malta, Malta Enterprise, Mater Dei Hospital and the Malta Council for Science and Technology, were involved in research projects which the PL claims were used to cover up for the money laundering.
Some €15 million in funds were transferred to the Maltese company from another company Periplo, through BOV, according to the PL.
Addressing a press conference yesterday, the PL’s spokesperson for education, Evarist Bartolo, said that while he was speaking, officials from Fondazione Maugeri were being interrogated in Milan. “Malta had an important role in the ploy and we cannot act as if nothing is happening,” he said. He referred to the Council of Europe report, issued on Tuesday, which said that Malta has the right institutions in place to counter money laundering, but enforcement is very poor.
“The government should say what the police and the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) are doing to protect Malta’s reputation,” he said. “This is highly important when taking into consideration that the financial services sector makes up 15% of the GDP”.
He pointed out that the Maugeri scandal started to unfold by coincidence as up till a few months ago, the foundation had a very good reputation and was almost beyond suspicion.
One of its officials was being interrogated regarding money laundering through the San Raffaele Institution, which failed. It turned out that the scandal the Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri was involved in, was an even bigger scandal. A total of €70 million in funds were misappropriated.
These included €23 million that vanished through a company based in Switzerland and €15 million in Malta.
Through the Maltese company, Fondazione Maugeri was allegedly to invest in patents from the Russian Science Academy for Research on life on the planet Mars. Charges against officials from the Maugeri foundation include money laundering, conspiring to deal in criminal activity and tax evasion. Of the €15 million sent to SIB Laboratories, it is calculated that only €3 million were used for research and science.
The company is based in Balzan and its accounts say that €9 million was utilised in 2009. However, this can hardly be realistic when taking into consideration that it employs two people and salaries make up 0.5% of the company’s turnover.
Mr Bartolo noted that Malta seems to have been used like other countries but local authorities have a duty to clarify things. Money was transferred between 2009 and 2011 and interrogations started in December. While the University of Malta last week said it suspended the agreement it had with Fondazione Maugeri, the website of SIB Ltd – the mother company of SIB Laboratories – still mentions the UoM prominently.
Meanwhile, MCST had been the first institution to detach itself from the Maugeri foundation.
Malta Enterprise and Mater Dei Hospital are also mentioned on the website, and no action seems to have been taken for the names to be removed.
Besides the local institutions directly or indirectly involved, legal office Peralta Custodian Ltd set up the company in Malta. David Gonzi, the son of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, is the secretary of SIB Ltd, the mother company of SIB Laboratories. He joined the company after one of its former directors, who also served as secretary, James Scerri Worley, left.
It is not clear whether Dr Gonzi knew what had been going on when he joined but investigations have been going on for months and he has not taken any action, Mr Bartolo said.
He pointed out that the same cover-up technique used in Italy, was employed to blanket activities here while making it seem that funds were being used for a good cause. This took place through the use of contacts and agreements such as those with the UoM, the MCST and Malta Enterprise, as well as foreign institutions, including an established one in Russia.
Meanwhile, it transpired during interrogations that politicians, or people close to them, helped to “open doors”. It is thought that the names of well connected people also serve to hinder authorities from taking action.
Contracts signed have been fictitious and the claimed research activity does not exist but only serves as a blanket. Mr Bartolo said companies in the financial sector can easily fall prey to illicit activity but the necessary action needs to be taken to control damage. He expects all necessary steps to be taken by local authorities for the situation to be addressed, adding that whoever does not fight corruption is himself corrupt.
Government reply
In an ambiguous reply, a spokesperson for the Education Ministry said:
“To date, the University of Malta has not requested SIB Laboratories Ltd to remove reference on its website to the collaboration agreements signed in 2010. Both SIB Laboratories Ltd and Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri have been informed by the University that these agreements have been suspended whilst investigations are going on.”