PM’s ‘sidekick’ lawyer blasts €24 million award to Chinese company… wants it redirected to Bonnici Brothers

Ryan Pace, the Prime Minister’s assistant at his private legal firm until a few years ago, has accused the Department of Contracts of making a wrong evaluation of a €24 million contract recommended to a Chinese company.

Instead, through the filing of an appeal on behalf of BESSUI JV – in which Bonnici Brothers, former clients of Robert Abela, are heavily involved – he wants the award to be cancelled and redirected to his clients, despite their bid being some €3 million higher.

Filing an appeal at the Public Contracts Review Board (PCRB), Pace objected to the award regarding the design and build of two energy battery storage systems in Marsa and Delimara, issued by Interconnect Malta – another government entity.

Pace wrote that although it was true that his client’s bid was substantially higher, the Chinese company recommended for the award – Jiangxi Ganfeng Battery Technology Company Ltd – should have been disqualified.

He stated that, according to research conducted by the Bonnici Group, the parent company of the recommended awardee, also a Chinese company, had admitted to insider dealing in China in its latest 2024 financial statements, and this should disqualify it from the award.

Pace argued that under Maltese law, the acts reported by the Chinese company amounted to a criminal offence, and this should automatically disqualify it from competing in Malta to supply a service of national importance.

Pace accused the government’s Department of Contracts, under the wing of Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, of “taking the easy way” to avoid possible controversy over public procurement contracts and how they are awarded and to whom, missing the criminal record of the Chinese company in the process.

He said this recommended award shows that the Department of Contracts did not carry the necessary level of due diligence required before issuing its recommendation.

Pace also insisted that the Chinese company, an international player in the sector, did not meet the required “standard specifications” listed in the tender.

The appeal, for which the Bonnici Brothers group had to deposit € 50,000, will be heard by the government-appointed PCRB. If upheld, the multi-million tender will most likely be awarded to the Bonnici Brothers joint venture, as they have the second-cheapest bid at €27.4 million.

Who is Bonnici Brothers’ lawyer?

Ryan Pace, an unknown lawyer until 2020, was a student and later an assistant to Robert and Lydia Abela at their private legal firm, Abela Advocates.

After his boss became Prime Minister, the 31-year-old was given 12 government retainers, mostly at Robert Abela’s recommendation. So far, the government has refused to disclose how much Pace is earning from government jobs.

In the meantime, the young lawyer also finds the time to work on private assignments, primarily related to clients who used to be served by Robert Abela and his wife until the couple ‘closed’ their legal firm.

Since Abela became Prime Minister, Bonnici Group has been showered with multi-million-euro contracts and direct orders. One of the latest is an emergency power plant in Delimara, which cost taxpayers €37 million.

They are also in the running for a €600 million incinerator contract, which is being appealed in court after the government insisted on awarding it to Bonnici’s consortium.

Robert Abela and the managing director of Bonnici Brothers, Gilbert Bonnici, were in the real estate business together.