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#Malta: 'It is unbelievable that those named in the Panama Papers are still there!' David Casa MEP #DaphneProject

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David Casa MEP (Malta) Head of the Partit Nazzjonalista delegation in the European Parliament testified before Magistrate Doreen Clarke this morning (16 April). Magistrate Clarke is currently investigating leaks from Malta’s anti-money laundering agency.

Casa is in possession of a Financial Investigation Unit (FIAU) report (22 March 2017) that calls for police action against Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi and contains details of schemes, systems, behaviour and collusion in corruption and money laundering on a massive scale, involving a member of the executive and other public officials in the Office of the Prime Minister Muscat, notably Keith Schembri who is Muscat’s Chief-of-Staff who alleged to have received kickbacks from the partial privatisation on Enemalta.

The leaked report claims that Minister Konrad Mizzi and Shanghai Electric Power engineer Cheng Chen planned to siphon funds from the deal to their secret companies in Panama and the British Virgin Islands.

Mizzi strongly rejects any allegations of impropriety in relation to the €320 Enemalta deal and decried the report as part of a “character assassination campaign, originally charted by blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia”. The murder of Galizia in a car bomb six months ago today, has intensified the interest and demands for a transparent investigation. The case has also brought press freedom in Malta into question.

The Pilatus Bank recently came to public attention when the FBI visited the bank in Malta as part of an ongoing investigation into its former Chairman Mr Seyed Ali Sadr Hasheminejad. The European Banking Authority has also opened a preliminary inquiry into the Maltese financial supervision of the bank that it says has featured in a number of leaked FIAU reports.

Casa has already met with Magistrate Aaron Bugeja in February on the basis of this report. He testified for over an hour.

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MEP Casa stated:

“It takes courage, conviction and strength of character to expose corruption and criminality. It endangers your livelihood and the security of your family. The brave persons that exposed this information are deserving of our gratitude. Under no circumstance will I reveal my sources. Konrad Mizzi betrayed the country and the trust of the Maltese electorate. He should have been removed from his post, swiftly investigated and brought to justice a long time ago. The longer this takes to occur, the more damage will be done.”

David Casa noted the launch of the Daphne Project yesterday. He said that in a democracy, it was crucial for the truth to be exposed and that that those involved in criminal activity are brought to justice.

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