According to the Times of Malta, SOCAR Trading, a partner in the Electrogas power plant, along with Nexia BT executives Brian Tonna and Karl Cini, will face charges in a year-long criminal case involving the company 17 Black. The investigation materials, completed last week, have been forwarded to the prosecutor's office.

While the exact charges are unclear, sources indicate that individuals and entities involved in the case could face allegations of fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit a crime, and lobbying for corruption.

Tonna and Cini first gained attention in 2016 for setting up secret companies that collaborated with businessman Jorgen Fenech and his Dubai-based company, 17 Black, to launder illicit profits from large national projects, including the Electrogas power plant. Nexia BT was later shut down, and both executives have been charged in other corruption-related cases.

In 2018, the Times of Malta and Reuters revealed Fenech’s ownership of 17 Black. Fenech led the consortium that secured a €450 million government contract to build and operate a new power plant in Delimara, with SOCAR Trading—a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan—holding a third of the shares.