Former commissioner John Dalli has denied committing any wrongdoing in visits to the Bahamas last year, in reaction to a report claiming that he had gone to transfer tens of millions of dollars there.

The International Herald Tribune reported that Mr Dalli visited the Bahamas – which is known for its secretive banks – on 7-8 July 2012 and later that summer. The former commissioner told the IHT that he had gone to help arrange financing for a philanthropic project.

But the landlord of a villa Mr Dalli had rented, Barry Connor, claimed that Mr Dalli had told him that he was planning to transfer large amounts of money for an unspecified venture.

When contacted by The Malta Independent, however, Mr Dalli denied transferring any funds to the Bahamas, although the IHT reports differently. It quotes the former commissioner as stating that sums of up to $100 million were not for him; he was acting on behalf of other people who wanted to set up a trust related to a personal and confidential project which aimed “to help people in Africa.”

Mr Dalli also told the Independent that he only owned one overseas bank account – the Brussels account in which his Commissioner’s salary had been deposited.

As for the trip to the Bahamas, he emphasised that “absolutely no personal interest” was involved, and that he was simply advising a philanthropic organisation which had an interest in the Bahamian banking system.

The former commissioner also pointed out that the trip occurred before OLAF completed its report on him, and that this report made no mention of such transactions.

“This is all conjecture without any sense... people are still trying to smear me,” Mr Dalli said.

Related story: Dalli transferred millions in secret Bahamas trip – IHT