Magistrate Aaron Bugeja has referred the 'proof' presented by Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil on alleged payments by OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri to Adrian Hillman to another Magistrate, saying that he felt that the prerequisites needed for there to be an inquiry on the in genere have been satisfied.
This means that there will be a third magisterial inquiry.
Last week, Opposition Leader went before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja with eight boxes of “irrefutable proof” on the allegations involving Mr Schembri and Mr Hillman, who is the former managing director of Allied Newspapers.
Adrian Hillman (R) and Keith Schembri (L)
He had already gone before the same magistrate with ‘proof’ that Mr Schembri had received kickbacks from Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna, with the money originating from the controversial IIP scheme. Magistrate Bugeja said those allegations should go before another magistrate. Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras was later appointed to lead an inquiry into those claims.
Magistrate Aaron Bugeja entering Pilatus Bank in April
Dr Bugeja was originally tasked with investigating claims, by Daphne Caruana Galizia, and supported by a former employee of Pilatus Bank, that Michelle Muscat, the PM’s wife, is the ultimate beneficial owner of Egrant Inc, the third mysterious Panama company. Mrs Muscat denies the claims and she and her husband have sued Caruana Galizia.
As revealed by this newspaper last week, the scope of Magistrate Bugeja’s inquiry to see (1) if Mrs Michelle Muscat allegedly is the ultimate beneficial owner of EGRANT Inc, 2) if the Prime Minister or members of his family, or John Dalli, or Keith Schembri or Konrad Mizzi have hold accounts at Pilatus Bank, if they were involved in suspicious financial transactions within Pilatus Bank or in acts of corruption or money laundering with persons from Azerbaijan at Pilatus Bank.
The government was first to react. “As happened in the first case, the Opposition Leader went with what he calls ‘proof’ which has nothing to do with the lie against the Prime Minister and his family,” a DOI statement said.
“The Magistrate also noted that the Opposition Leader had other means at his disposal, rather than taking his report to the Magistrate. This confirms that the Opposition Leader is only playing for time in an attempt to hide his own lies,” the statement read.
Speaking in Mellieha this evening, the PM said the magistrate had turned Busuttil away because the box files contained nothing related to allegations made against him. "Maybe the PN leader's aim was to waste five days of this inquiry, What is Simon Busuttil afraid of?"
"If a shred of evidence, a shred of truth you said about me or my family is found, I will leave, no questions asked. But if it is found that he lied, then he must leave".
But Busutti, who was speaking in Paola, interpreted things differently. He read out the court decree, saying that it proved his proof was real and merited a separate investigation. “This also makes the PM’s position even more untenable. Muscat, who is one and the same with Keith Schembri, has lost all moral authority.
“Muscat, your place is not in politics,” he charged, to chants of “barra, barra.”
Busuttil said the magistrate felt that “the prerequisites to launch a criminal investigation have been satisfied.” The magistrate also noted, Busuttil said, that the nature of the Egrant inquiry required a great deal of detail, including with the help of several experts, mainly foreigners. “The magistrate gave out a strong signal that the inquiry will not be concluded by 3 June. This means we will have an unprecedented situation where a PM is running for election while under criminal investigation.”