Malta’s Crane Currency deal may be under investigation by the European Commission for breaching state aid rules, a parliamentary question has suggested. 

MP Jason Azzopardi asked Enterprise Minister Miriam Dalli whether the currency manufacturer was under investigation. Dalli did not deny the claim outright, insisting that “Malta Enterprise has not been notified of the investigation”.

On 21st September 2016, Independence Day, then-Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced that he had signed an agreement worth $100 million with Crane Currency. 

It later emerged that Keith Schembri, the then-chief of staff, led the negotiating team. Muscat even described Schembri as being “the catalyst in making sure things got done” when announcing the deal.

Soon after, Ivan Camilleri at the Times of Malta revealed that Schembri’s company would supply crane’s printing machinery. Supplying the machines would also see the company benefit from regular income from maintaining the machines.

It was also revealed that the government would fork out €27 million to build Crane’s Ħal Far base, while the government would guarantee around 75% of the company’s €72 million loans.

Crane is yet to face any major allegations of wrongdoing. However, the deal itself is uncomfortably similar to Schembri’s at Progress Press, which saw Schembri overcharge the publishing house by over €6 million to distribute kickbacks through offshore companies. His company also earned around €21 million in supplying raw materials in the years that followed.

Schembri and 10 others are currently facing criminal charges over the Progress Press deal.