Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that he was still investigating claims “made on the internet” that government consultant Shiv Nair has been blacklisted by the World Bank.

Dr Muscat was replying to a parliamentary question by opposition MP George Pullicino, and added that he would be waiting to have all the facts in hand before deciding on Mr Nair’s position.

As Dr Muscat himself suggested, news that Mr Nair has been blacklisted by the World Bank has surfaced on numerous websites, perhaps most prominently on the personal page of The Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The World Bank’s own website states that a “Pradeep S. Nair” from London was permanently blacklisted – and as a result, ineligible to be awarded World Bank-financed contracts – on 8 April, 1999, while “Shivshanker Pre Nair,” also from London, received the same sanction on 11 February, 2000.

Mr Nair’s name is listed as “Shiv Shankaran Nair” on the website of La Vallette Corporation Ltd and of the British North Borneo Company Ltd – he is part of both Malta-registered companies’ management team. An “S.P. Nair” is also listed as the latter company’s chairman emeritus.

But Mr Pullicino insisted that he is the same person mentioned twice by the World Bank, stating that Mr Nair tried to use a different name to evade the blacklist, unsuccessfully.

Dr Muscat also confirmed that Mr Nair was not engaged by the Office of the Prime Minsiter, and said that he was instrumental in establishing contact with the Qatari government when Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi visited the country.

The entire 30 minutes of question time was devoted to a single parliamentary question, by opposition MP Claudio Grech, and numerous supplementary questions. Mr Grech sought the full list of consultancy contracts awarded by the Office of the Prime Minister.

But Dr Muscat was not present at the start of proceedings, leaving it up to Parliamentary Secretary Owen Bonnici to present the requested information. Opposition whip David Agius sought an explanation, and Dr Bonnici said that Dr Muscat was being kept busy by “official work” and would arrive in minutes.

The issue – government consultants – proved to be a contentious topic, and at one point, Dr Bonnici stressed that the government “will not have consultants like Richard Cachia Caruana, who under the terms of a contract made by the previous government, continues to be paid €5,000 a month to this day even though he was censured by this parliament.”

That remark provoked a quick response by Mr Agius, who wondered how the government would know how exactly much Mr Cachia Caruana earned, but could not what Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi’s wife Sai earned as an investment envoy at Malta Enterprise.

Dr Bonnici said that the government discussed Ms Mizzi’s case for weeks, and said that his message to the opposition was to “judge her by results” (sic).

Opposition deputy leader Mario de Marco then brought up Mr Nair, asking whether he was a consultant to the prime minister, whether he accompanied to Qatar and to any other official visits abroad, and to confirm his blacklisting by the World Bank. But Dr Bonnici pointed out that Dr Muscat did not visit Qatar, and said that Mr Nair was not a consultant to the Office of the Prime Minister.

Former energy minister Tonio Fenech then stepped in, clarifying that Mr Nair had accompanied Dr Mizzi to Qatar and that an official Qatari website described him as a “consultant to the Maltese prime minister.”

But Dr Bonnici opted to reply sarcastically, stating that he could confirm that Dr Mizzi “never went to watch a football game on a private jet,” in reference to what Mr Fenech had once done, before stressing that questions concerning Dr Mizzi should be directed to him.

However, Dr Muscat arrived soon enough, and Mr Pullicino seized upon the opportunity to direct his questions to him directly. Mr Pullicino questioned what Mr Nair’s capacity was when he accompanied Dr Mizzi, whether he was aware that he was blacklisted by the World Bank – twice, as he attempted to change his name – and if he would follow up on a pre-electoral pledge and sever all ties and contracts with Mr Nair if he is made aware of this blacklisted, which earned the applause of fellow opposition MPs.

Dr Muscat explained that he was late to parliament as he was talking to Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia over the phone. The minister, he pointed out, was at an important meeting for interior ministers in Luxembourg in which “illegal immigration” – as the Prime Minister insists on calling the arrival of asylum seekers to Malta – was being discussed.

He went on to state that Mr Nair never accompanied him on delegations, but noted that his contacts with the Qatari government were crucial when Dr Mizzi visited the Arab state.

The prime minister pointed out that Mr Nair had been given Maltese residency by the previous government, sarcastically stating that as a result, it was clear that he was not a criminal, since the previous government would not have allowed him to stay.

But Mr Fenech questioned Dr Muscat’s apparent claim that Mr Nair had no contract with the government, and clearly acting on the government’s behalf in Qatar.

Dr Muscat missed Dr Bonnici’s previous reference to a private jet, and said that Mr Nair had not accompanied him on one.

This time round, Mr Fenech was quick to reply that “at least, I did not bring the Gozo Channel back,” in reference to a ferry being made to turn back to Cirkewwa to pick up Gozo Minister Anton Refalo shortly after he called his canvasser, a Gozo Channel employee.

“But you were given a clock,” a government MP hit back, in reference to the artisanal clock Mr Fenech had once received from the family of George Farrugia, the recipient of a presidential pardon to turn state’s evidence on an oil procurement scandal.