Leo Brincat denies appointing Frank Sammut

Labour MP Leo Brincat this morning denied that he was the one who, as minister responsible for Enemalta, had appointed Frank Sammut to the oil procurement committee. Speaking at a press conference, Mr Brincat said Mr Sammut - who is at the centre of allegations of commissions for oil purchases - had been appointed by then Parliamentary Secretary Ninu Zammit in the late 1980s. Mr Sammut had even been given an office at the Enemalta building despite not being an employee of the corporation. He said that when he was minister (1996-1998) he had appointed Paul Vella as chairman of MOBC to ensure that there were no irregularities in oil bunkering services. It look like the suspicions he had had the time had foundation, Mr Brincat said. He noted that he had asked Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt a question in parliament based on a claim in a renowned bunkering journal that Mr Sammut was associated with a bunkering company in which a former Enemalta chairman was also involved. At the time, Mr Brincat said, he had received reports of excessive dependence on one or two companies. At the time, the minister had said he preferred to see oil purchases from a cluster of companies as a way to...