‘Dalligate’ Aide Dies

Silvio Zammit, a key figure in the “Dalligate” snus bribery scandal, died at age 57, reports Malta Independent.

A Maltese businessman and political canvasser for former EU Health Commissioner John Dalli, Zammit allegedly tried to solicit a €60 million ($68.20 million) bribe from Swedish Match in exchange for using his influence to lift the EU ban on selling snus.

Swedish Match rejected the offer as improper and reported it to the European Commission.

The European Commission forced Dalli to quit in 2012 after the EU’s anti-fraud office uncovered the bribery attempt. Zammit was charged in December 2012 for trading influence and complicity in the request.

The case against Dalli continues. On Feb. 9, 2022, he appeared in a Maltese court charged with bribery and trading influence, according to Euractiv.

Dalli has repeatedly said that he was framed, set up by the tobacco lobby to delay his draft anti-smoking legislation.

A Maltese investigative journalist, Daphne Caruana, who made various allegations against Dalli in her blog “Running Commentary,” was murdered in October 2017.