A new provision in the Criminal Code introduced last year about dealing in influence makes it more difficult for Nationalist MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando to escape prosecution in connection with the Mistra case.
However the police have kept their lips tightly shut when asked by MaltaToday whether trading in influence was one of the main investigative options that are being explored by the police in connection with this case.
A spokesperson for the Police Commissioner was curt in his response: “Please note that we can confirm that an investigation on this case has been commenced by the Police, however, since this is still ongoing, it is not prudent at this stage to comment further on this issue.”
They also kept mum as to whether they were in a position to bring criminal charges against somebody in relation to this investigation and if so, to state who the persons were and on which charges were they going to be arraigned in court.
The police would not confirm whether they had spoken to Pullicino Orlando, as has been reported in the media, and to the other members of the Development Control Commission (DCC A) who took the decision to grant the Mistra permits.

New provisions introduced
The new amendment to the Criminal Code states that anyone who promises, gives or offers, directly or indirectly, any undue advantage to someone to exert “an improper influence over the decision-making of any person” would be liable to imprisonment for a term from three to 18 months.
Equally liable would be those persons who receive or accept any offer or promise of any undue advantage for themselves or others in exercising any improper influence.
Finally, the offences will be considered complete even if the desired result was not achieved.
Until now, Pullicino Orlando has always protested his innocence, originally telling journalists he did know anything about the granting of the MEPA outline permit for the Mistra property, before a planning consent form and a private agreement were revealed proving Pullicino Orlando’s knowledge of both the development and the applicant, Domenic Micallef, for the disco.
However, last Sunday, The Sunday Times revealed that members of the Development Control Commission (DCC A) that approved the permit last November and government officials had received telephone calls and messages from Pullicino Orlando before the permit was issued last November.

Pullicino Orlando questioned
On Wednesday, Pullicino Orlando confirmed the police commissioner had spoken to him “at length” on 16 March (last Sunday) in connection with the case.
He said that he had written to the commissioner and the MEPA auditor Joe Falzon four days earlier about the Mistra case, offering his “full cooperation”.
The former members of the DCC A who are under investigation in connection with this case are architect Philip Azzopardi, who served as chairman, and the five members: director of agriculture Anthony Mifsud, retired architects Carmel Portelli and Charles Calleja, and architects Christopher Spiteri and Mark Azzopardi.
Pullicino Orlando has stated he has no intention of resigning his seat in parliament until the police investigation requested by the Prime Minister into the “Spin Valley” permit in Mistra was concluded.
Pullicino Orlando has been in the line of fire ever since the last week of the election campaign, when former Opposition leader Alfred Sant published documents linking him to an outline development permit granted by Mepa for ODZ development in environmentally sensitive Mistra Bay.
Earlier this week, soon after the MEPA auditor’s report into the granting of the permit by the DCC was published on Monday, it transpired that an independent consultant who drew up the case for the developer – a Malta Tourism Authority consultant to the Chairman on product development, George Micallef – was also the same person who wrote an MTA report praising the development to MEPA.
Micallef has tendered his resignation as MTA consultant to MTA Chairman Sam Mifsud, which resignation was accepted “with immediate effect” by the MTA.
“At no stage was the application or report referred to the MTA Chairman or the Board members. It does not result that the MTA was aware that Micallef was also the consultant of the applicant for the said Mistra Bay development project, the MTA said in a statement on Thursday.
The MTA said it would be conducting a “complete review” of procedures when processing such applications, “in a determined effort to ensure that the Authority will continue to carry out its responsibilities in the most transparent manner possible, above any and all reproach”.
Moreover, the MTA said it was going to await the outcome of the Police investigations “to determine whether any further action is warranted”.

czahra@mediatoday.com.mt