The Labour Party has accused the Nationalist Party of trying to mislead the public over the oil procurement scandal that took place under a Nationalist government.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Labour said the PN was attempting to downplay the case and present it as a political fabrication, despite the scandal having first been exposed by independent media in 2013.
The party was reacting to claims which it attributed to “Alex Borg’s media”, saying these sought to give the impression that there had been no corruption in the oil procurement case.
Labour referred to a court judgment in which it said the magistrate stated that George Farrugia had corrupted officials of Enemalta Corporation and Mediterranean Offshore Bunkering Company Limited.
The party noted that while the court found Farrugia’s testimony about his brothers to be unreliable, it also recalled that he had been granted a presidential pardon in exchange for revealing information about the corruption case.
According to Labour, the fact that Farrugia was granted a presidential pardon by the Nationalist government led by Lawrence Gonzi showed that the case was not invented or exaggerated by the Labour Party.
“If there had been no corruption, there would have been no reason for Gonzi’s government to grant Farrugia a pardon,” the party said.
Labour also said the court judgment indicated that Farrugia was the main person behind the corrupt acts and that his brothers were unaware of what he was doing, including in cases where he acted in their names.
The party also quoted the judgment as stating that Farrugia’s wife, Catherine Farrugia, appeared to be the only other person with knowledge of what was happening during the relevant period, while attempting to minimise her role when testifying in court.
Labour further highlighted another finding from the judgment, saying Farrugia had “something to hide” because he failed to produce the bank statement for Aikon’s Swiss account, despite being ordered by the court to do so and despite being protected by the presidential pardon.
Aikon, Labour said, was the company through which Farrugia allegedly channelled money to influence oil procurement.
The party said the judgment made clear that criminal acts had been committed in the way oil was procured during the Nationalist administration.
Labour also claimed that during the Gonzi administration, fuel prices in Malta increased at twice the rate seen in the rest of Europe.
It contrasted this with the current situation, saying Malta is the only country in Europe to have maintained stable fuel prices while other European countries have seen strong increases.
The statement concluded by saying that, after 13 years in Opposition and five changes in leadership, the Nationalist Party remains dominated by the same “clique” from the Gonzi era.