John Dalli accuses Pieter Omtzigt of a ‘wild west lynching’

Former European Commissioner John Dalli has accused Dutch politician Pieter Omtzigt of writing up a report with ‘spurious information’ ‘fed’ to him by ‘megalomaniac hate mongers’, in what he described as the equivalent of a ‘wild west lynching’ without verifying the facts.

In a report on the rule of law in Malta, Omtzigt wrote that while corruption charges were being prepared against Dalli by former Police Commissioner John Rizzo, none were brought by his successor, former Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit.

The report also states that when Dalli returned to Malta after the Labour Party’s victory in the 2013 general election, he was appointed a public health consultant following Rizzo’s dismissal.

Dalli wrote to Omtzigt that this not only showed that he was ‘shallow and irresponsible’, but also that he “cannot be trusted with producing an objective contribution in the fight against corruption.”

The former commissioner insisted that Rizzo preparing charges against him did not mean that he was guilty and that the only reason the charges were being prepared was because of pressure from the Office of the Prime Minister under the Gonzi administration.

Dalli said that he had informed the police of when he was due to return to Malta. When he did, Rizzo was still police commissioner and, had he wanted to proceed with the action against him, he had all the time to do so.

Dalli said he suspected the allegations about him came from ‘one of the top megalomaniacal hate mongers in Malta’.

“You [Omtzigt] let yourself be instrumentalised by your prompter to serve the agenda of the megalomaniacal hate mongers in Malta,” Dalli wrote, adding that the individual sat in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and gave away public property to private entrepreneurs for a pittance.

He went on to say that “the fact you and your prompter throw mud at me in this way shows your utter disrespect for the rule of law and for the presumption of innocence, which you are supposed to be protecting.”

Dalli ended his letter saying he expected a public apology and hoped that a genuine sense of duty would spur Omtzigt to investigate the commission for the impunity granted to its officials.

In Omtzigt’s report, it states that “there are similarities between the Electrogas deal and another involving Vitals Global Healthcare (VGH). In April 2013, disgraced former European Commissioner Mr Dalli returned to Malta and was appointed government consultant on health.”

“A due diligence report, published by Ms Caruana Galizia, stated that in 201314, Mr Schembri, the CEO of Projects Malta (under Dr Mizzi’s control) and ‘a very senior former Maltese minister’ (whom she took to be Mr Dalli) had sought to persuade a Dubai-based healthcare company to enter into a contract with VGH.”

The report also noted that “Mr Schembri and Mr Dalli had Pilatus Bank accounts.”