Witness In John Dalli Snus Affair Case Fined €53,000 And Banned From Offering Financial Services
A key witness in the police’s case relating to the snus affair involving former EU Commissioner John Dalli has been fined €53,000 and banned from providing Company Service Provider services by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).
Dalli had been forced to resign his position as EU commissioner after being linked with an attempt to secure a €60 million bribe, in exchange for overturning an EU ban on snus smokeless tobacco.
In a notice issued on its website today, the MFSA said it had fined Iosif Galea €53,000 after he was found to have breached the Company Service Providers Act as a result of “unauthorised business activity and the failure to provide the requested information to the authority”.
It also directed Galea to “cease the provision of any services which require prior authorisation or registration from the MFSA, including the provision of CSP services as defined under the applicable law”.
Iosif Galea had been called to testify in the case against Silvio Zammit, one of Dalli’s aides.
Dalli was charged in court earlier this week, despite the issue having cropped up in 2012. He has maintained his innocence throughout, though the EU’s anti-fraud agency, OLAF, was categorical in its accusation that Dalli was aware of the bribe attempt.
It is unclear whether the MFSA’s fine is linked to the case, or whether it relates to some other financial services activities.
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