Former Nationalist minister Michael Falzon today publicly apologised for his ‘omissions’, saying that he has failed his Prime Minister and colleagues, as well as the electorate.

The apology comes following a story in The Malta Independent on Sunday in which Mr Falzon is reported to have had a secret account in a Swiss bank and on which no taxes were paid.

His full statement is as follows

“I refer to my statement of last Saturday wherein I explained how – prior to 1987 – I was involved with other professionals in the provision of architectural and civil engineering consultancy services outside Malta and that, considering the political situation prevailing at that time, I opted to retain my earnings abroad. 

“I acknowledge that although my fiscal position has long ago been regularised, this is not sufficient for a politically active person.  I recognise that I ought to have repatriated the funds on the first possible occasion after the 1987 election and that I ought to have included the said funds in my Ministerial declaration of assets.  As a result of these omissions, I have failed my Prime Minister, my Parliamentary colleagues and the electorate who had given me their trust by voting for me.

“In view of this, I unconditionally apologise for my failures.”

Last Saturday, Mr Falzon had suspended himself from the Nationalist Party after being contacted by The Malta Independent and asked about his Swiss bank account. His auto-suspension came before the story was published. Apart from Mr Falzon, another former Nationalist Minister, Ninu Zammit, also had a Swiss bank account, with Mr Zammit saying that he had regularised his position after an amnesty given by the Labour government.

Both Mr Falzon and Mr Zammit were suspended by the PN.

The Malta Independent exclusive story on Swiss Leaks

This newspaper also reported that Mr Falzon had lied in his declaration of assets.