Joseph Ellul Grech, an accountant falsely accused by John Dalli in the Daewoo scandal, has rubbished the former European Commissioner’s attempts to deflect blame over his involvement in the scandal.

Lovin Malta has reported how Dalli, while serving as shadow minister, served as a consultant to some of Malta’s largest companies, including the Universal Commerce Agency Ltd., which imported motor vehicles from Daewoo, Holden, Dacia, and Rocsta.

Loans in excess of €37 million from BOV were issued to the company while Dalli occupied the role. It has been alleged that Dalli even received a kickback of €1.2 million for his role in the deal. 

Dalli filed a criminal complaint against Joseph Ellul Grech, a former accountant at Universal Commerce Agency Ltd., claiming that the latter circulated forged bank statements and 20,000 anonymous letters among members of the press. 

Ellul-Grech was eventually acquitted for all crimes, later winning a constitutional case over the issue. In a reply to the article, Dalli continued to point the finger at Ellul Grech. 

Ellul Grech’s reply is as follows:

“With reference to the article published online in Lovin Malta on 28 July 2021. Once again, John Dalli makes false and malicious accusations against me without having any evidence to support his accusations.”

“He should have produced the evidence he had when he and the police started criminal proceedings against me in November 1999. He and the police should have also charged Mario Galea the Nationalist MP. He was found to have hundreds of the anonymous letters in his car boot when he was involved in a serious car accident at 2.00am on 16th November 1990. At the time I was in police custody. Mario Galea should have been charged with possession and distribution of the letters and much more.”

“Early in their investigation, the police had confirmed that all the stationery used came from parliament. The 20,000 letters contained three A4 sheets of paper. The person responsible needed 60,000 sheets of paper, 20,000 envelopes and stamps. The evidence proved that there were four different handwritings. Analysis confirmed that none of them were mine.”

“I would like to make it clear that I have never had any connection to Mario Galea whatsoever. On the other hand, John Dalli did. As a Minister and an MP they both had the opportunity to order that amount of stationery from parliament.”

“It is a lie that I made an attempt to blackmail John Dalli, failed or otherwise. I was acquitted of all the charges John Dalli and the police brought against me. In his summing up Magistrate Micallef Trigona stated there was no evidence to prove my involvement in the forging and circulation of the anonymous letters John Dalli had accused me of.”

“With the determination of my solicitor Dr Gavin Gulia on 19 April 2016 I won a constitutional case (Rik.Kost 19/12) against the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner for breach of a fair hearing relating to the false and malicious accusations that John Dalli and the police brought against me.”