Brussels court upholds illegal Dalligate wiretap sentence against former OLAF chief
Brussels appeals court confirms one-year suspended sentence against Giovanni Kessler, OLAF boss who ran Dalligate investigation that led to resignation of former European Commissioner John Dalli
A court of appeal in Brussels has upheld the conviction of the former director of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Giovanni Kessler, for the illegal wiretapping of Silvio Zammit, the late Sliema businessman alleged to have solicited a bribe on behalf of former European Commissioner John Dalli.
The court confirmed the one-year suspended prison sentence for Kessler, who taped witnesses surreptitiously in the John Dalli ‘snus’ probe that led to his resignation in October 2012.
Kessler, who left OLAF in 2017, was responsible for the investigation that led to Dalli’s resignation from European health commissioner.
The ex-OLAF chief was probing allegations that Zammit had sought bribes from the European smokeless tobacco lobby Estoc, which wanted Dalli to life an EU retail ban on snus.
Dalli has always protested his innocence, claiming he was unaware of Zammit’s actions and his requests to Estoc; Zammit had been approached by Estoc’s Maltese lobbyist, the lawyer Gayle Kimberley, to secure a meeting with Dalli on the matter.
According to Belgian newspaper L’Echo, Kessler admitted to what he termed a “mistake” and for mishandled the situation when he encouraged an Estoc official to record her conversation with Zammit.
Kessler told the court he had never considered the illegality of the wiretap.
The court highlighted Kessler’s failure to recognise the need for probity in his high-ranking position.
In the original court sentence, the Belgian court of first instance said it was “concerned” by Kessler’s attitude, as he “claimed to be unaware of the existence of legislation regulating the recording of phone conversations,” even though these restrictions derive from the European Convention on Human Rights that he could not ignore given his role as chief of OLAF.
Dalligate
The Dalligate scandal, as it was called, erupted when John Dalli was working on changes to the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive.
His aide Silvio Zammit, who has since died, was accused of seeking a €60 million bribe.
It was at his restaurant that Zammit had been first solicited by a Maltese lobbyist, lawyer Gayle Kimberley, to approach John Dalli on behalf of Estoc, and Swedish firm Swedish Match. The company was seeking a reversal of the EU retail ban on snus.
Dalligate, the movie, is out. But its star is Green politician José Bové
Dalli resigned on 16 October 2012 after a four-month investigation by the EU’s anti-fraud unit, led by its chief Giovanni Kessler. OLAF said there was circumstantial evidence that Dalli was aware of Zammit’s offer to Estoc. Zammit was later charged in December 2012.
The OLAF report resulted in Dalli’s resignation from commissioner. But while Dalli was accused of failing to disclose some meetings with tobacco lobbyists, the OLAF report found no direct link between the Maltese commissioner and the request for bribes.
Kessler contended at the time there was “unambiguous circumstantial evidence” that Dalli knew about it – a list of phone calls made from Zammit to Dalli at the same time that he had been in conversation with Swedish Match and Estoc.
However, Kessler later ended up in the spotlight as Belgian authorities started looking into allegations that the Dalligate investigation was poorly conducted and politically motivated.
Zammit had been charged by the police in Malta with bribery but the case never came to its end. Zammit often complained that the delay in his court hearing had breached his rights.
Dalli was however only charged with the offence in 2022 – 10 years later. The former commissioner denied the charges, which include trading in influence and attempted bribery. The case against Dalli in the Maltese courts is ongoing.
The police never took action against Gayle Kimberley, formerly a lawyer at the European Council’s legal services in Brussels, despite OLAF also recommending criminal prosecution for lying about a meeting she alleged having with Dalli personally in his St Julian’s office. Zammit’s defence lawyer Edward Gatt had complained that the Maltese police had refused to charge Kimberley.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
