The mysterious Young Female Lawyer
You would imagine that if John Dalli were truly taken by surprise to discover that the Young Female Lawyer who asked to meet him was a lobbyist dispatched by Swedish Match, and not just somebody he didn’t know from Adam who was miraculously granted access for some quick mentoring on snus, then he would have no qualms about telling us her name.
He didn’t have any problems telling us who the Maltese Entrepreneur is.
Anyway, apparently it’s Dr Gayle Kimberley, nee Curmi. Journalists have been ringing Dr Kimberley for the past week, but she has not been answering her phone.
Nothing much should be read into this; lawyers and lobbyists cannot speak to the press without the express permission of their clients, and lawyers are specifically bound over in terms of professional secrecy. They can’t even confirm whether X or Y is a client.
But still, actually answering the phone and just explaining all this would make a difference.
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Daphne strikes again.
Howzat!
I wonder if Zammit is also a friend of hers on Facebook…
Save you the hassle… he is.
Sure enough Silvio Zammit and Gayle Kimberley are friends on Facebook.
I believe that John Dalli is innocent. He might not have been aware of what Zammit was doing from behind his back.
[Daphne – You are confusing two separate issues, lola. Whether he is innocent or not of requesting a bribe is irrelevant to the reason for his forced resignation: becoming embroiled with Silvio Zammit and granting him unofficial access.]
Being his canvasser he could have abused his position.
[Daphne – Lola, EU Commissioners don’t have canvassers because they don’t need them. They are not elected, still less elected by people who live in Sliema.]
If Dalli was at fault he would have acted otherwise, that is accept the forced resignation to be able to enjoy his pension and allowances.
But because he believes he is innocent he wants to clear his name,first of all for his sake and for the sake of Malta’s image.
[Daphne – Lola, you are wrong. He has said quite clearly at his press conference why he is doing this: because it 1. damages his future, and 2. damages his family’s future. No mention of Malta. It’s the lost opportunities for wheeling and dealing that he’s worried about. Business will now be reluctant to touch John Dalli & Associates. THAT’s what he’s worried about. And let’s not forget Sargas, which will now almost certainly sever its relationship with him.]
Now we want to hear Zammit’s version and the lawyer’s in the series of events. Hopefully this will be forthcoming.
Dalli was interviewed by OLAF.
They must have told him what it was about.
All he had to do was put his affairs in order, that is tell Zammit to stop doing whatever it is he was doing and I guess that would have been acceptable.
But when Zammit carried on after Dalli had been told by OLAF it was wrong then OLAF had to interview Dalli again.
And still Zammit carried on.
We don’t have to hear anything except what the police decide to do.
Such nonsense. If Dalli had to be told – by OLAF, no less – that what Zammit was doing was wrong, he was unfit for the job.
Not that we didn’t know that already.
Daphne,
No wonder Labour and all egocentrics hate you so much.
I wish to hear some news about whether Dalli contacted his Prime Minister.
Silvio Zammit has been stitched up.
Dalli saw this coming. If that letter Dalli sent to Zammit in August really exists and it said what Dalli says is said, then it was just part of a mise-en-scene in which Zammit was to keep quiet while Dalli did all the talking.
If Dalli wished to put a stop to what Silvio Zammit was doing i.e. ‘misrepresenting’ him, the letter would have told Zammit to cease and desist, rather than simply saying he would be held responsible for any damage that ensues.
Either way, the letter was useless. It did not put a stop to Zammit’s behaviour, it couldn’t because it was too late anyway, and it could not guarantee any compensation to Dalli. What was Dalli planning to do? Sequester Zammit’s kiosk as collateral payment for lost commissions from lucrative deals?
Lola, the very fact that Mr Dalli did not consult with OLAF regarding ‘alleged’ contacts by Swedish Match (and others) with his confidant Silvio Zammit, is serious enough to make his position ‘untenable’.
This goes far beyond guilt.
Gayle was at sixth form college with John Dalli’s daughter, Claire.
So let’s leap into Wonderland and say Dalli didn’t know about this whole charade.
Then he must be an idiot.
But he said that it would be political suicide, so he had an inkling of the gravity of the situation.
But he kept mum. So either he’s a bigger idiot and doesn’t think ahead or just plain greedy, though I fear it’s both.
From Her Linkedin profile.
Legal adviser and lecturer in field of EU Economic law, Competition law, Gaming, IPRs
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/businessdetails/business/businessnews/Gaming-Authority-signs-betting-agreement-with-European-Sports-Security-Association-20120419
http://yogonet.com/english/2012/08/14/malta-igaming-seminar-2012-confirms-prominent-speakers
Where does Snus come into it?
Gayle Kimberley, Manager Legal (EU and International) Affairs
Lotteries & Gaming Authority – Malta
Gayle graduated in Law and International Relations from University of Malta. Gayle started her career as a diplomat in the Maltese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She left the Foreign Office in 2004 to join the Legal Service of the EU Council where she worked as legal adviser to the Council for 6 years. Gayle is currently based in Malta and is working as Manager Legal (EU Affairs) at the Lotteries and Gaming Authority in Malta.
http://www.spainonlinegambling.com/speakers.htm
So is she a civil servant doing a spot of moonlighting?
http://mt.linkedin.com/pub/gayle-kimberley/14/a75/797
Not exactly someone who would be presented as a young female lawyer, I think.
Nahseb li Silvio Zammit qabdu haddiehor biex jidher ghalih, u hu jibqa mistur f’din l-istorja.
Why was I expecting some kind of Bond girl?
The plot thickens. According to Dr Kimberley’s LinkedIn profile, she has acted as “Legal and policy Adviser on EU Economic law, Telecommunications, Competition, Food law, Gaming” with the EU Council from December 2004 to January 2011.
I bet she must have run into John Dalli in the corridors of Brussels at least once. Swedish Match didn’t choose their representative just for her youth and her looks.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/gayle-kimberley/14/a75/797
And she has deleted her Twitter account already, but Google remembers:
On 8 Oct 2010 (3 months before leaving her EU post) she tweeted “Anyone need a contact in Malta – contact me! (legal, political, economic – anything!)”
Here’s the link:
http://www.google.com.mt/search?q=twitter.com%2FGayleKimberley%2Fstatus%2F27713936291
Yes lola,just wait till Zammit starts singing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0PMq4XGtZ4
Eurovision?
Lola,
Olaf never claimed that Dalli received any money.
Through their comprehensive investigation Olaf discovered that John Dalli was fully aware that his close aide, Silvio Zammit, was demanding millions of euros from the Swedish company on his behalf and yet he never bothered to report it to the authorities or stopped Zammit. They based their findings on a series of circumstantial evidence.
We also have learned that Barroso met with John Dalli and his lawyers twice to explain himself and yet Dalli could not come out with a good reason that would satisfy the investigators.
Consequently, Dalli could not be trusted as a commissioner.
If Barroso looked the other way and allowed Dalli to stay in his post Barroso credibility would also be questioned especially when quite a number of lawyers and former prosecutors were working on his report.
If it is actually her then according to her LinkedIn profile she was an official in the Lotteries and Gaming Authority (of Malta). After July this year she ceased to be an employee and became instead an ‘external consultant’.
Linkedin profile:
http://mt.linkedin.com/pub/gayle-kimberley/14/a75/797
……and she is a very good friend of Claire Dalli.