The Prime Minister has welcomed reports that a former employee of Pilatus Bank, has testified before the magisterial inquiry investigating the journalist's allegations that the Prime Minister's wife, Michelle Muscat, is the ultimate beneficiary owner of the third Panamanian company Egrant.

Daphne Caruana Galizia has reported on her website that her whistleblower, a former employee of Pilatus Bank of Russian nationality, has testified before the magisterial inquiry investigating the journalist's allegations that the Prime Minister's wife, Michelle Muscat, is the ultimate beneficiary owner of the third Panamanian company Egrant.

The former employee of the bank, Mrs Caruana Galizia said this evening, has been the main source of her reports on the bank and its clients.

In a statement the Office of the Prime Minister said Dr Muscat expressed "satisfaction that the supposed whistleblower has testified before the inquiry that I myself had requested".

In a terse statement, the OPM added "The Prime Minister hopes this will lead to the whole truth coming out about the lies about him and his family".

Earlier this evening, Mrs Caruana Galizia said that the whistleblower had volunteered herself to give testimony after Mrs Caruana Galizia had not disclosed her identity when she herself testified yesterday.

Mrs Caruana Galizia had said she facilitated the whistleblower's testimony since court clerks, unaware of who the person actually was and the magistrate's obvious interest in hearing from her, asked her to fill in a formal application to appear before inquiring magistrate Aaron Bugeja.

The whistleblower gave testimony between 3pm and 6pm this afternoon, Mrs Caruana Galizia reports.

 

Muscat's last shred of credibility gone - Busuttil

Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil, who has been calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister and the arrest of his chief of staff over the unfolding scandal, said, "Now that a whistleblower has, with great courage, testified before the inquiry, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat must step down because "his place is not in politics".

"This latest development in a week of new revelations every day has made it all the more likely that the company, Egrant, belongs to the wife of the Prime Minister, and that it "strips Joseph Muscat of his last shred of credibility".

He added, "Joseph Muscat's only chance of saving his skin to keep on lying.  His placed is not in politics and he needs to get out now if he is to stop damaging the country."