Reuters and Times of Malta revealed today that Cifidex, a company which Reuters said is owned by Azeri national and former Electrogas director Turab Musayev, had bought the Montenegrin wind farm for €2.9 million after receiving a loan from Fenech, and had sold the farm to Enemalta for €10.3 million two weeks later. 

Cifidex then repaid Fenech the loan, along with a further €4.6 million, with the money passing through Fenech’s company 17 Black, which was identified by financial services firm Nexia BT as a target client of Mizzi’s and Schembri’s Panama companies.

Musayev has denied any wrongdoing and has said he had no reason to suspect Fenech had any involvement in Caruana Galizia’s murder.

He said Cifidex had its own independent management and that his business with Fenech involved due diligence from reputable and established bankers, accountants and lawyers.

However, Mizzi insisted he had no idea 17 Black was involved in the project and that he has “no association” with Fenech’s company.

“My involvement as Energy Minister was to set the country’s energy policies and ensure Enemalta got stronger. Everyone knows that Enemalta got stronger and that electricity tariffs have gone down,” he said.

“On behalf of the government, the ex Prime Minister [Joseph Muscat] and I had backed this project because we believed it would help Enemalta and Malta. That’s why I held bilateral meetings with the Montenegrin government and why both governments worked in favour of this project.”

Cover photo: Konrad Mizzi and Joseph Muscat observe plans for the Montenegro wind farm in 2016