Tuna ranching exporter put under court administration over money laundering charges

A Maltese tuna ranching company that exports to Asian markets has been placed under court administration after one of its directors was charged with money laundering as part of an international investigation into alleged illegal tuna exports.

Malta Fish Farming Ltd, one of the island’s largest exporters of bluefin tuna to Japan and China, was put under administration by the court following the arraignment earlier this year of director Giovanni Ellul.

Magistrate Lara Lanfranco ordered lawyer Peter Fenech to assume control of the company’s operations until judicial proceedings are concluded.

The decision follows a freezing order imposed on the Marsaxlokk-based company last September amid allegations of large-scale money laundering and fraud linked to an investigation led by Spanish police.

Prosecutors allege that the case centres on an illicit tuna export scheme spanning Malta, France and Spain.

The company is owned by Salvu Ellul, a prominent businessman known as tal-Elbros, who also serves as a director. He has not been charged.

Criminal proceedings to date have focused on another director, Giovanni Ellul, and a former senior public official, Andreina Fenech Farrugia, who previously served as director general of fisheries.

Ellul pleaded not guilty to charges including money laundering, participation in a criminal organisation, forgery of public documents, use of false documentation and making false declarations to public authorities.

Fenech Farrugia has also denied charges, which also include money laundering, as well as bribery, trading in influence and disclosure of official secrets.

According to prosecutors, the defendants were involved in a scheme that enabled undocumented tuna fattened in Maltese waters to be exported illegally to Spain. The fish allegedly transited through Marseille in containers falsely declared as carrying fresh fish before arriving at an unauthorised warehouse in Spain.

Spanish authorities have linked the alleged operation to José Fuentes García, a major figure in the European tuna industry.

Investigators say wiretaps revealed close contacts between Fuentes García and Fenech Farrugia while Malta Fish Farming was allegedly used as a conduit for exports arranged by Ellul.

Court filings allege that a Maltese haulage firm, Express Trailers, transported at least 49 containers of tuna ordered by Ellul. All were reportedly misdeclared and never formally registered with Spanish authorities.

Wiretapped conversations cited by prosecutors suggest tensions between Fenech Farrugia and Ellul over tuna quota issues, with the former reportedly expressing doubts about his reliability and suggesting political pressure be applied on ministers.

The owner of MFF Ltd, Salvu Ellul, has recently attracted attention for signing a non-binding agreement to acquire a minority stake in the concession for the former Malta Shipyards site in Marsa, a deal that would rescue the MMH project from near insolvency. The transaction remains subject to government approval.