No Portfolio Minister Konrad Mizzi and former FIAU director Manfred Galdes have accepted to go before the PANA committee that will be in Malta on Monday investigate the Panama Papers scandal.

OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri is still to give an answer, The Malta Independent is informed.

The Panama Papers are 11.5 million documents published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities.

Konrad Mizzi is the only minister serving in a European Union member state to be named in the Papers.

In a statement on Twitter, Dr Mizzi said that he has phoned PANA Committee Chair Werner Langen to inform him that he has accepted the Committee’s invitation.

Dr Galdes is the former Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit Chief who stepped down in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal. MEP David Casa insisted with the EPP Group to request the PANA Committee to invite Dr Galdes and the PANA Committee accepted. 

The acceptance by Konrad Mizzi comes after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday intimated that the minister should not shy away from meeting the committee.

The pressure now mounts on Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna and Karl Cini, who have both said they will not be meeting with the committee members.