Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today that there is absolutely no indication of a cover-up by the police following the publication of FIAU reports regarding OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri.
During the Xarabank debate last Friday, PN Leader Simon Busuttil released a number of FIAU reports regarding Keith Schembri, including the one relating to alleged kickbacks for the IIP scheme as well as another regarding alleged payments to former Allied Newspapers Managing Director Adrian Hillman.
The FIAU report on IIP kickbacks stated: “In view of the above circumstances, the information available to the FIAU is deemed to be sufficient to conclude that a reasonable suspicion of money laundering and/or the existence of proceeds of crime subsists.”
The Prime Minister was asked how he could still stand there and defend Keith Schembri given this report, and whether the police sitting on this indicates a cover-up.
In response, the Prime Minister said that there are many reports that are standard in what they say. “What I am convinced about is that in the IIP scheme there is no possibility of interference as it is full of checks and balances.”
A further question from the press pool was related to the aforementioned answer. “Did I understand you correctly in saying that the FIAU conclusion that there is enough on Keith Schembri for the report to be sent to the police is a standard sentence in reports?”, a journalist asked.
“You have enough FIAU leaks to check against other FIAU reports,” the PM replied.
Pressed on whether he believes this indicates a cover-up, he said “absolutely no.”
Asked whether he still holds that the FIAU report regarding Konrad Mizzi, Keith Schembri and a company known as 17 Black, of which excerpts have been seen by this newsroom, doesn’t exist, the Prime Minister said: “No, I stand by what the FIAU said, that your conclusions, or at least the way you reported this report a few minutes before the debate, coincidentally, was not correct.”
He was asked by the press when he got to know about all these revelations and whether he still needs Konrad Mizzi with him.
“I got to know through the selective leaks and through the FIAU statement that denied any conclusions in this sense.”
In a statement issued at just past midnight after The Malta Independent reported that
investigations FIAU reveal the transfer of money from a company connected to Armada Floating Gas Services Malta, owners of the LNG tanker berthed in Marsaxlokk, to a Dubai-based company created for the purpose of transferring kickbacks to then Minister for Energy Konrad Mizzi and Prime Minister Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, the FIAU denied that there was any “conclusive report or conclusions as are being alleged”. It should be noted that the article clearly states that the report in question is still awaiting conclusion.
On Konrad Mizzi, the Prime Minister said the minister who was relegated to hold a No Portfolio position would be judged by the people.