As controversy continues to rage over Mark Gaffarena's dubious property dealings on Valletta's Old Mint Street, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has pledged that he will seek to undo what has been done by all means necessary, if it is concluded that there have been any shady dealings in the case.

Contacted by this newsroom in the wake of information received about a wide-ranging exercise being carried out at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and the Lands Department, Dr Muscat said, "I will get to the bottom of it and I will obviously reverse the deal if I find it to have been dishonest."

In the meantime, this newspaper is informed that the government is leaving no stone unturned to uncover the whole "big picture" of the highly suspect wheeling and dealings of Mark Gaffarena and his immediate family members over the last two decades.

Although neither Dr Muscat nor his office would comment further on the investigations, other sources close to the government were more forthcoming.

Our sources have informed us that "the government is looking into each and every case of possible expropriations of land over the years that appear to have been shady. Following that exercise, the government will be asking for further investigations to be undertaken."

Sources close to the government speaking on condition of anonymity with this newspaper confirmed that the government has launched a wide-ranging exercise, which has started off with a review of each and every development application filed by Mr Gaffarena and his family at the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

Investigations at Mepa have so far uncovered no less than a whopping 77 development applications since the 1990s, many of which appear to be dubious in nature, that were filed by either Mr Gaffarena or members of his family.

So far, it has transpired that there were no less than 53 applications filed at Mepa under his name (Mark/Marco/M. Gaffarena) over the past 20 years, between 1995 and 2015. An additional 24 applications were also filed by family members in the same time frame.

While some of those applications had been refused, the majority were granted. The fact that the majority of applications filed were granted is not necessarily illegal but the initial results of the exercise, according to our government sources, "set alarm bells ringing immediately" after the Old Mint Street affair was revealed by the media.

Forced by public outcry, the government is currently digging through two decades of files, going as far back as the early 1990s, to uncover a system of conduct which now turn out to have been part of the Gaffarenas numerous suspect dealings across a number of legislatures.

Next, an extensive, and perhaps more pertinent exercise will be undertaken at the Lands Department, which will result in a breakdown of the public land the family has acquired, and land that was sold to the government over the years.

This extensive exercise is obviously driven by the dubious purchase and quick sale to the government of the property on Old Mint Street, Valletta, where Mr Gaffarena is reported to have become an instant millionaire, if he wasn't one already following dozens of suspected shady deals secured over the years.

The government began the investigation on a tip-off that his latest property venture was only the tip of the iceberg. 

Moreover, our sources have also confirmed that the exercise in hand will not stop at Gaffarena's dubious dealings, but similar exercises will be carried out regarding other notorious land speculators and developers so as to uncover and eliminate a suspected and highly questionable modus operandi that has been in place for years.

This may appear to be a mud-raking exercise on the part of the government aimed at discrediting the Opposition's claims of Gaffarena's alleged influence with members of the Labour Party by showing that similar deals had been made under previous governments. But, according to our sources, the government will be going after the Gaffarenas and others, irrespective of when the deals were done so that those involved will answer for their actions and face the music.