Economy Minister Chris Cardona this morning said he had nothing to do with the recruitment of Shiv Nair as consultant for the government. He added that, as minister, he was not involved in the process of his selection.

Ministers, he added, do not go into the process of who is chosen as an envoy.

Mr Shiv Nair, who is blacklisted by the World Bank and resides in Malta while having British citizenship, is the government’s consultant for energy.

Asked on the indirect taxes the government intends to introduce in the Budget and which the government referred to as part of the Economic Partnership Programme submitted to the European Commission, Dr Cardona said consultation as part of the pre-budget processes has been carried out and details will be given by the Finance Minister in the Budget.

Dr Cardona was speaking to journalists on the fringes of a half-day seminar on the family business act.