A legal representative acting on behalf of two men who were charged this week with conspiracy to defraud Bland has said that the Government of Gibraltar did not make any complaint against his clients which then triggered the police investigation.

Robert Fischel QC, who represents Thomas John Cornelio and John Christopher Perez, says the RGP issued an incorrect press notice on the 15^th September to the effect that both Bland and the Government made a joint or separate complaint. Mr Fischel says it was only Bland’s Chairman who issued the complaint “in the context of a commercial and civil dispute over the support of computer systems and associated data for HMGoG.”  

A statement from Mr Fischel is reproduced here in full:

“On 15 September 2020 the Royal Gibraltar Police published Press Notice 66/20.  The Notice incorrectly states that the investigation results from a complaint made by both Bland Limited and Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar which led to the investigation against us. The clear inference from the Press Notice is that there was either a joint complaint or two separate complaints made in 2018/2019 which triggered the investigation. This statement is incorrect. We are not aware of any complaint made by HMGoG in this matter.  In so far as we are aware the only complainant in this matter is the Chairman of the Bland Group, James Gaggero, and it is exclusively this complaint which has been investigated.  Mr Gaggero’s complaint was made after the resignation from the Bland Group of Messrs Perez and Cornelio and in the context of a commercial and civil dispute over the support of computer systems and associated data for HMGoG.”