Cafe Premier scandal: they took Eur4.2 million and carried off the kitchen and restaurant fittings

Published: March 2, 2015 at 3:39pm

kitchen

You know how I like to say that the devil is in the detail?

Well, to my mind, the single sentence which tells us conclusively that it was Mario Camilleri of Cities Entertainment who was calling the shots and dictating the terms of the negotiations, rather than the government which supposedly had the upper hand and full leverage, is this in a cabinet memorandum, written by the cabinet secretary to all members of the cabinet, dated 10 September 2013.

Cities Entertainment Ltd are also stating that whilst they are prepared to leave all fixtures and fittings related to the running of the tourist attraction The Great Siege of Malta, they are not including in their offer the kitchen and restaurant related fixtures.

Here you have a company that has gone bust, owing millions of euros, a significant tranche of that to the party on the other side of the negotiating table, the party which on paper has all the negotiating power.

They have been offered a deus ex machina lifebuoy of Eur4.2 million, saving them from years of court cases and pursuit by debtors, and they say, “Thanks, but we’re keeping the kitchen and restaurant fittings, and by they way, I want 5% commission as payment for brokering this deal between you and me.”

And Joseph Muscat says yes, fine, then has his sidekick Mario Cutajar write a memo to the cabinet.

What does this tell you?