Government bought 36 vehicles for €2 million over two years from just one supplier

Motors Inc Ltd was awarded five contracts for the provision of at least 36 vehicles and two other contracts for the provision of other equipment worth almost €2 million in the past two years.

Motors Inc is split equally between three main shareholders. While Tum Invest and United Group own a third each, the other third is held by Pater Holding Company Ltd, a company owned and largely managed by GVZH Trustees. Besides making just shy of €2 million through Motors Inc, Tum Invest and United Group both have generally made their wealth through interests in real estate and other economic sectors.

Pater Holding Companies Ltd is owned by the Mamo family including MFSA Chairman Prof. John Mamo’s wife and children. Since their ownership is held through GVZH Trustees, it is not known whether Prof Mamo still holds a beneficial interest.

Tum Invest is headed by Anthony Fenech and his sons Silvan and Matthew who are cousins of Yorgen Fenech, accused of assassinating journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and facing charges of purchasing weapons on the dark web as well as money laundering charges. Formerly part of Tumas Group, Anthony, Silvan and Matthew Fenech branched out to set up Tum Invest.

Tum Invest’s board of directors included Yorgen Fenech until his arrest on 20 November 2019, which caused the company’s bond values to plummet by 7% the next day, according to Malta Today.

The largest contract awarded to Motors Inc was for the provision of 20 brand new vehicles for the police force’s Rapid Intervention Unit, valued at €769,000, a contract that was approved on 9 July 2020.

Other services contracted to the same company include the supply of 12 motor vehicles to the Malta Gaming Authority at the cost of €117,000, three double-cab vans for the Cleansing and Maintenance Division that cost €114,864 and a 9-seater van costing €26,783 that was procured for the Malta Medicines Authority.

€553,100 were also spent on an unspecified quantity of vehicles, trucks and mini-buses from Motors Inc, along with another contract for the provision of a new suction excavator that cost €396,400. Including an additional, minor contract that cost €9,250, the total amount awarded to Motors Inc adds up to €1,986,987 in less than a year and a half, from 29 July 2019 to 11 November 2020.

The Shift relied on Government Gazette records for this analysis, which publishes contracts months after they are signed. It is not yet known whether more contracts have been awarded throughout 2021, although pictures sent to The Shift last June indicate that Mater Dei Hospital has also been endowed with a fleet of new cars from the same provider, with medical professionals questioning why the hospital would need such cars.

The vehicles shown in the pictures below are all the same model, with the latest versions costing somewhere around €25,000 per vehicle.

Tum Invest is also one of the shareholders behind the Centerparc project in Qormi, a project which had stirred controversy due to the lack of a permit to demolish a farmhouse that stood in its way.

Tum Invest had, in another instance, been granted a temporary emphyteusis over land in Wied Għomor to accommodate the company’s plans for a 26-storey hotel. The plans fell through after the proposal was met with strong opposition from the local council and several environmental NGOs.

The same shareholders were also involved in a company known as La Cava Operations Ltd, administering a quarry with V&C Developments Ltd. The facility was the only quarry allowed to take construction waste during a period in 2019 when most quarries when unable to operate, which made it a significantly lucrative enterprise.

United Group is a shareholder in major commercial and residential properties such as the Pendergardens development in St Julian’s and Pinto Business Centre in Qormi. United Group is largely headed by the Gatt Baldacchino family, with interests in car rental franchises, retail and catering, including being the official representatives of brands like Hertz and Debenhams.