“The Maltese businessman expressed to us very clearly that he was speaking on behalf of Dalli.” – Swedish Match
The corruption probe was launched by OLAF, the European Union’s antifraud unit, after Swedish Match, the snus producer, reported that it had been approached by a Maltese businessman demanding a bribe in exchange for using his influence with Mr. Dalli, his fellow Maltese, to lift the ban on its product.
“The Maltese businessman expressed to us very clearly that he was speaking on behalf of Dalli. He had a manner and information that made us wary,” Patrik Hildingsson, a Swedish Match spokesman, told Reuters on Friday.
Swedish Match has a joint venture with Philip Morris International to develop new snus markets.
On Wednesday, Silvio Zammit, a Maltese entrepreneur and circus owner, resigned his post as deputy mayor of Sliema, Malta, after local media reports linked him to the alleged bribery attempt.
“I strongly deny all allegations of any wrongdoing on my part,” he said in a statement on his Facebook page.
– By Harvey Morris, International Herald Tribune, Rendezvous, View from Europe
15 Comments Comment
Leave a Comment
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/20/brussels-break-ins-investigated-as-tobaccogate-unfolds/
How come John Dalli only denied his involvement in this case but failed to come down hard on Silvio Zammit for using his name in such deals without his (John Dalli’s) consent?
If he’s truly innocent first thing he should do is challenge Silvio Zammit that this had John Dalli’s blessing.
Very true. If John Dalli wants to clear his name the first thing he has to do is to institute legal proceedings against Silvio Zammit for using his business name as alleged by OLAF yesterday and as declared here by the Swedish company’s spokesman.
Then we could start seeing evidence coming out.
He might as well bring a case against the woman who gave birth to him claiming she’s not his mother.
Did John Dalli ever deny his association with Silvio Zammit?
“The Maltese businessman expressed to us very clearly that he was speaking on behalf of Dalli.”
What if Zammit was lying to the Swedes? Is this the ‘unambiguous circumstantial evidence’ that OLAF referred to?
[Daphne – Obviously not. They would have run through all his emails and checked his hard drive, besides monitoring his telephone conversations.]
I have no brief to defend Dalli but I find it very difficult to believe that anyone in the position of EU Commissioner, even Dalli, would be so incredibly stupid to ask for a bribe, through an intermediary.
On the other hand, it is more plausible that Zammit was stupid enough to try and lie in this manner.
Think Sivio has now got himself in a bigger circus than planned.
The truth is that had Silvio been negotiating with the Swedes without consulting Dalli, Silvio would not have dreamt of demanding 60 million euros. With his background he would not have the slightest idea what the changing of the law would have meant financially to the Swedes.
[Daphne – I agree with you, Edgar. A friend and I were talking about that only yesterday: that it wasn’t Zammit who worked out the numbers.]
I disagree. I don’t think it takes much to know how big the tobacco market is and actually if you calculate how much money could be made from the lifting of the ban you will find that EUR60m works out as a good investment (had it not been illegal).
The mistake is not in the amount but in asking that amount from one company which probably could not afford it. I’m not trying to excuse anyone however.
It takes a whole lot more than being a director at a pizza and mqaret kiosk to work out the potential value of a particular segment of the tobacco market.
And that’s assuming you were capable of identifying it in the first place.
He said on his Facebook page…ha ha ha ha.
He then asked for help building his farm on Farmville.
Silvio, Bill Clinton infamously denied having “sex with that woman” (Monica Lewinsky). As for what he did with his cigar and how his semen ended up on her dress – well, one can reach his own conclusions.
“Strongly denying all allegations” does not necessarily mean that one is entirely innocent in the matter, but rather that one is trying to cover up one’s own arse.
Edgar’s comment is so correct.
I came across an article that snus almost scuppered Sweden’s entry to the EU, and then they obtained a derogation.
Swedish Match turnover is Eur 1 billion, without access to the rest of the EU. Can you imagine the effects on the company if the ban is repealed?
If Sweedish Match’s turnover is in fact EUR1 billion then they surely could afford it (see comment above).
Could it be possible for Silvio or any other common person to enter into correspondence like this with such people?