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Written by Walter Finch of McGrail Investigations
FABIAN Picardo says he does not need a small stake in the company at the heart of McGrail’s investigation because “being a lawyer and the salary I get as chief minister make me richer than I would ever want to be.”
It was one of his few candid admissions during McGrail’s most anticipated and hotly debated day of investigation.
After nearly six weeks of hearings, a number of highly respected lawyers have launched attacks on Gibraltar’s Chief Minister.
But in the end, the words on everyone’s lips were “filibuster” (or the strategy of stalling for time by giving long responses) as Picardo shrugged off many of the criticisms and attacks.
A series of seemingly pointed questions were met with endless lengthy answers and counter-questions.
Lawyers representing the inquiry itself, the Royal Gibraltar Police and former police commissioner Ian McGrail found themselves up against the head of government and the on-duty King’s Counsel at Gibraltar’s largest law firm, Hassans.
The inquest heard that Picardo was furious that a search warrant had been issued against his “close friend and mentor” James Levy, Hassan’s senior partner, without actually seeing the underlying evidence presented by police.
On May 12, 2020, a search warrant was issued against Levy, setting off a chain of events that led to McGrail’s retirement four weeks later amid allegations of “corruption at the highest levels of government.”
Nick Cruz, acting for the Royal Gibraltar Police, told the Chief Minister: “You were upset that a close friend had been upset and without actually seeing any evidence or information you took the liberty of questioning something you had no evidence to know.”
“Absolutely not,” Picardo countered, “It’s absolutely irrelevant that a friend might feel uncomfortable.
“I have a view that is not based on evidence but on my opinion of how to treat individuals who hold privileged material relating to other people.”
The confidential information was stored on Levy’s cell phone, which police seized when they went to Levy’s office on the day they obtained a search warrant.
But Picardo denied he was concerned the RUC would be able to view the Whatsapp chats between him and Levy, or that they might reveal any information.
“Those contents are privileged,” he said. “Those are private conversations I have — I could be talking to him about marital difficulties. But that doesn’t mean I’m worried or concerned.”
Picardo has previously described Levy as Gibraltar’s “biggest rainmaker” who brought wealth to the economy through his many “high net worth” clients.
Recent data released by the EU Tax Observatory may explain why Picardo is so keen to protect this privileged information about the wealthy.
According to Gabriel Zucman, a leading international tax expert, in 2021, corporate profits of American companies in Gibraltar alone amounted to 78 billion euros, twice the profits of Germany, France, Italy and Spain combined.
The data was released as the investigation sought to probe Picardo’s apparent misconduct in providing assistance to Levy and his old comrades in Hassan during their fight with the RUC.
It was put to him that the position he took once the Chief Minister came to know that Levy was a potential “suspect in criminal investigation” was “inconsistent”.
“There are also inconsistencies in what the police chief told me,” Picardo countered.
He reiterated his key allegation: that McGrail lied to him about whether Attorney General Christian Rocca approved the use of a search warrant against Levy instead of a less-invasive production order.
Picardo claimed that on the same day his officers attempted to execute the search warrant, McGrail told him in a heated meeting, “The DPP has suggested that we should proceed by way of a search warrant.”
The chief minister then claimed that Rocca had actually “strongly advised McGrail not to” apply for a search warrant, sensitive information he later shared with Levy’s lawyer and son, both of whom worked for the Hassans.
The claim was later found to be “false” and Rocca himself denied it, telling investigators he made no recommendations regarding the search warrant.
Yet the quote appeared in a letter Hassans wrote to the RUC, threatening a judicial review of the search warrant the same day.
When asked if he passed the erroneous but sensitive information to Hassan, Picardo demurred and clarified that he did not “tell Hassan” but told “Hassan’s (lawyer).”
In fact, they passed the information to Levy, who Picardo knew at the time was a “person of interest in a criminal investigation.”
The Chief Minister explained this by saying that Deputy Public Prosecutor Christian Rocca had “broken the circle of trust within the Public Prosecutor’s Office” by sharing it with the Executive Office, which he, as Chief Minister, was the head of.
He argued: “If something is not expressly stated as confidential, then it is not confidential.”
He also claimed he had been sharing the information with “everyone” because it was “an important issue in town.”
Sir Peter Openshaw, chairman of the inquiry, pointed out the First Minister’s own logic.
“Suppose there is a terrorist shooting. This would be a significant issue in the town and the DPP would make his recommendations on the matter to the Attorney General before you.
“Your reasoning for going public with this is that it’s an important issue in town, but that’s not right.”
Mr Picardo categorically denied further allegations that he had “encouraged, supported or otherwise promoted Mr Levy’s allegations against the RUC”.
Instead, he described the help he provided to Hassan’s lawyers as “discussions with friends” rather than “legal advice.”
He added: “This matter is too serious for me to provide them with detailed legal advice.”
The tense and rapid-fire question-and-answer session was interrupted around midday by the most bizarre incident of the entire six-week investigation — students from nearby Prior Park suddenly appearing in the hallway.
As more facts emerged, even Openshaw commented that he didn’t think “it was a good idea.”
A smirking school teacher followed them and ordered them to disperse to the empty seats in the auditorium.
After being assured that they were all over 14 and eligible to attend the meeting, Openshaw allowed them.
But 30 minutes later, when the teacher suddenly took them out again, the audience couldn’t help but mutter: “Who arranged this stunt?”
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