Kasco continues trading in public tenders despite freezing order

Keith Schembri, widely regarded as the mastermind behind the corrupt deals under the administration of disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat, is still conducting business with Robert Abela’s Labour government.

As Schembri’s companies, including the now notorious Kasco Ltd, are under a freezing order and controlled by a court-appointed administrator, his paper importation company is still managing all supplies delivered to the University of Malta and the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST).

According to information published in the Government Gazette, last May, Kasco was awarded two massive tenders for the supply of photocopy paper, worth more than €170,000.

The award was the same one that Schembri, through his companies, has been winning for years, even when he was still at the helm of the OPM. The Shift is informed that both higher education institutions, funded through public funds, have been buying all their paper requirements from Schembri for many years.

University sources told The Shift that while it is evident that the University’s business association with Kasco and Schembri’s companies is very awkward and damaging for its reputation, it cannot do otherwise.

“Somehow, Kasco always manages to beat its competitors in price, and by law, we are bound to choose the lowest offer,” an official said.

Legally, Schembri’s freezing orders still allow his companies to continue operating and competing in public tenders. Blacklisting only kicks in if and when Schembri and his companies are ever found guilty.

Schembri has been the recipient of various government direct orders since he was arraigned and accused of money laundering, fraud, misappropriation of funds, and other criminal acts in 2021. Recently, the Water Services Corporation also acquired all its paper needs from Kasco through a direct order.

While serving as Muscat’s right-hand man, between 2013 and 2019, Schembri’s various companies made a killing from government tenders and direct orders for the supply of paper.

When asked at the time about his blatant conflict of interest, the former OPM boss insisted that he was not directly involved in the running of his paper business as he had transferred the day-to-day operations to his father, Alfio. The latter was also charged in court because of his association with his son.

An FIAU report, which had also led to accusations of corruption and fraud, had established how Schembri, through Kasco, had supplied for years millions of euro worth of newsprint to Allied Newspapers, publishers of The Times of Malta. As a result, two of its managing directors, Adrian Hillman and Vince Buhagiar, are facing accusations of receiving kickbacks from Schembri.

They pleaded not guilty to the charges. The cases are still ongoing.