Saturday, April 28, 2018

Konrad Mizzi’s involvement makes SOCAR deal more suspect - AD

AD spokesperson on energy and infrastructure Ralph Cassar has commented on the recent revelations regarding the contract for the supply of gas by Azebaijani state owned company SOCAR, calling it a shady deal.

"Alternattiva Demokratika has been pushing for a move towards cleaner and renewable energy in Malta and has always been in favour of investment in infrastructure to make our energy supply more sustainable. Gas is an important transition fuel, much cleaner than other fossil fuels, however the aim should always have been a net zero carbon economy, something from which the country is very far from achieving. The neglect and carelessness of previous governments in the energy sector is also a fact nobody can deny. However, the issue here is the context in which today's deals were struck."

"The contract for the supply of gas by SOCAR, to another company which is also part-owned by SOCAR, is one sided, with the Azebaijani's making huge profits. Since not enough details are available it is difficult to make detailed comments, but everything seems to point towards a very shady deal. Fixing a price for a long period is also risky, indeed we had commented on this aspect of the contract a couple of years ago. The purchasing and resale of fuel from Shell and the involvement of one of the most corrupt regimes in the world also raises multiple questions. Konrad Mizzi's direct involvement, as does the involvement of Brian Tonna and Nexia BT makes the deal more suspect."

"The questions raised by the DaphneProject need to be answered. This contract was awarded in a context: secret companies and bank accounts, shady characters from Azerbaijan and a bank which is reported to be involved in laundering Azerbaijani money."




from The Malta Independent https://ift.tt/2Kie44a
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