No Portfolio Minister Konrad Mizzi today refused to name the international company that is carrying out an audit into his Panamanian company and New Zealand trust, insisting that questions should be put to the Prime Minister.

Mr Mizzi was testifying in a libel case he has instituted against PN Deputy Leader Beppe Fenech Adami.

Dr Fenech Adami’s lawyer, Dr Joe Zammit Maempel, asked Dr Mizzi who the company carrying out the independent audit was. Dr Mizzi refused to name the company, telling the lawyer that he should ask the Prime Minister.

He then said he did not wish to name the company because he did not want to put it under any undue pressure.

Dr Zammit Maempel said he would not put any pressure on the company and said he wanted to know the name simply to ascertain that an audit was truly taking place.

Replying to questions, Dr Mizzi said his company and trust had now been registered in Malta.

He pointed out that he had listed his Panama company and New Zealand trust in his declaration of assets.

Asked if he had been fined for not registering the trust with the Maltese tax authorities, Dr Mizzi said he was informed “much later” that the trust had to be registered.

He had not gone into such details with his financial advisers – Nexia BT – and there was not even an online form to register a trust.

Dr Mizzi, along with OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, has filed several libel proceedings after their names were revealed in the Panama Papers leak.

The former PL Deputy Leader had appointed an independent inquiry more than six months ago. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said when asked last week that such audits took time to be completed. He added that the fact that the process was taking a long time showed that things were being taken seriously. Dr Muscat said the audit should be completed before long and he was sure it would be published once completed.