The United Arab Emirates has refused to execute two rogatory letters sent by Maltese courts which could have shed light on the mysterious company 17 Black, a parliamentary question has revealed.

Replying to a PQ tabled by MP Karol Aquilina, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici presented figures which show how the UAE did not execute such letters in 2018 and in 2019. A rogatory letter is a formal request from a court to a foreign court for some type of judicial assistance.

It should be noted that the PQ does not expressly state to what such letters relate, however, it is likely that it involves the magisterial inquiry into the mysterious Dubai company 17 Black that begun in 2018.

The inquiry was launched a few weeks before Reuters and The Times of Malta revealed that the company belongs to Tumas Group CEO Yorgen Fenech, a partner in the Electrogas consortium behind the Delimara power station.

Police had been investigating 17 Black since March 2018 after receiving a Financial Analysis Intelligence Unit (FIAU) report and requested a magisterial inquiry so as to acquire more evidence.

17 Black was listed as the ‘main client’ and ‘possible Payer/Sender’ of Tillgate and Hearnville, the offshore Panamanian companies owned by OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi, in emails published by German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Times of Malta as part of the Daphne Project.

Documentation linking Mizzi and Schembri to 17 Black and a financial intelligence report recommending police action have also been published.

The multiple revelations and documents have only fuelled suspicions that Mizzi and Schembri opened their Panamanian companies with the intention of receiving kickbacks, but the two men have vehemently denied the claims, with Mizzi insisting he set up his company for family planning purposes and Schembri stating he set it up for business purposes.

READ NEXT: EXPLAINER: What This New 17 Black Story Means For Keith Schembri And Konrad Mizzi

Julian Bonnici

Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.