Robert Abela made a scene as he walked out of court. Visibly irate he launched an unhinged tirade against the opposition. “Today a unique situation evolved in the courtroom, where the PN showed it lost hope of governing the country…it’s trying to dismantle the power of government and little by little, thanks to the courts, those powers are being shifted to the opposition”.

Abela truly lost it.  He’s annoyed because the PN resorted to the courts to recoup millions of euro Labour funnelled from state coffers into Vitals and Steward. You’d think Abela would be on their side.  You’d imagine Labour would be four square behind recovering those millions.  Abela would have far more money to dish out on the eve of the European parliament elections. Instead Abela was so livid he made an utter fool of himself.

“Again we’ve seen an opposition that doesn’t believe in the basic principle of democracy,” he accused. You’d think the Opposition had just mounted a coup d’etat. How on earth does resorting to the courts to seek justice for the nation constitute an attack on democracy?  If anything, it implies respect for the rule of law and due process.

“More than that it (the Opposition) is afraid of and disrespects the will of the people,” Abela declared. “Is it the people who have the sovereignty to govern this country through the mandate it gives to government in a general election or is it the Opposition, with the backing of the courts, which tries to put pressure on the State Advocate, the Judge, the Police commissioner and on the Attorney General?”

That’s rich coming from Abela. He publicly humiliated Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia, over what he called “unacceptable delays”. He heaped pressure on her to conclude her investigation. He publicly blamed her for his humiliating U-turn over the Sofia public inquiry.  Even the Chamber of Advocates felt compelled to condemn his “attack on the judiciary”. He also publicly pressured Magistrate Gabriella Vella after the search at Joseph Muscat’s residence, openly criticising her for seizing electronic equipment. He threatened that “we have confidence in the institutions but they have to be careful to ensure that this is retained”.

Abela had other reasons for being so enraged that morning. The courts had just rejected his attempt to keep the Pilatus case secret. The Appeals court confirmed the ruling by the Constitutional court that the Pilatus case will be heard in open court.  Abela had got his State Advocate and Attorney General to request that proceedings be heard behind closed doors. Abela was falsely broadcasting his respect for the people’s will even as he desperately maneuvered to keep the public in the dark over the scandalous Pilatus. Why is Abela so desperate for Pilatus’ secrets to remain buried? Why doesn’t he want us to know why the AG subverted the direction of the inquiring magistrate to prosecute Pilatus officials?

According to the FIAU  “the veil of secrecy created (at Pilatus) is in actual fact making it easier for banking transactions to be carried out by PEPs (politically exposed persons), their family members and close associates without the level of scrutiny required by law”. 

For years Labour defended Pilatus against accusations of money laundering. Labour supporters celebrated in front of the bank’s Ta’ Xbiex offices after the 2017 election. Saviour Balzan heralded Pilatus’ “clean bill of health”. Alfred Sant  claimed “Pilatus is a small bank - it is small fry”. Labour accused Simon Busuttil of “a campaign of lies and science fiction” when he raised concerns about Pilatus. It wasn’t science fiction - it was the truth. Pilatus was later stripped of its licence and fined almost €5 million by the same FIAU that issued its clean bill of health.

But Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri and Yorgen Fenech had all attended Pilatus Chairman Ali Sadr Hasheminejad’s lavish wedding at the Four Seasons Hotel in Florence. Pilatus Chairman was on first name basis with Schembri.

In March 2016 the FIAU found “Pilatus systematically failing its obligations to prevent financial crime”. In August, Hasheminejad wrote an angry e-mail to his friend Keith. He complained about the MFSA’s refusal to support Pilatus in opening a UK branch.  “It’s none of the authorisation unit’s business,” he arrogantly commented.  The following month the FIAU forgot Pilatus’ systematic failures and gave it a clean bill of health.

Soon after Hasheminejad was arrested in the US on money laundering and sanctions busting. He faced over 100 years imprisonment but his conviction was quashed over procedural errors by US prosecutors. By then the European Banking Authority had caught on.  It condemned the FIAU for “breaching EU’s anti-money laundering laws over its failure to sanction the bank (Pilatus)”.

Only then did the FIAU and MFSA file a criminal complaint over suspected financial crimes at Pilatus. The police did nothing except refer the case to the Magistrate. The Magistrate tasked Duff and Phelps, an international forensic company, with conducting investigations. They found “the bank was non-compliant from the moment its licence was 6granted”.

The Magistrate ordered the AG and police commissioner to institute criminal proceedings. He even signed arrest warrants for them. Instead of following the Magistrate’s orders, the AG did the opposite. She issued a “nolle prosequi” not to prosecute.

Now that the AG’s suspicious decision is being challenged in court, she’s asked for the case to be heard in secret. The court refused.  And Abela’s fuming.

He’s now threatening the judiciary and warning that any decisions they take against his government will be construed as complicity with the Opposition and intended to usurp power. Abela’s threats are getting ominously dark.