Prime Minister says he has not seen Swiss Leaks list, ‘shortlist’ being drawn up

Jacob Borg Wednesday, 11 March 2015, 11:37 Last update: about 11 years ago

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today that he not seen the Swiss Leaks list.

Dr Muscat said he has requested a list of politically exposed persons on the list, including those who have formed part of government boards in the past.

This “short list” has not arrived yet, he said.

Yesterday, The Malta Independent reported that there are no more ministers, former ministers or MPs on the Swiss Leaks list.

The Swiss Leaks files have been made available to The Malta Independent through an investigative partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and French newspaper Le Monde.

The Swiss Leaks files, which is a project led by the ICIJ, is based on a list of around 60,000 leaked files that provide details on over 100,000 HSBC Switzerland clients and their bank accounts.

The only two politicians who held secret Swiss bank accounts are those exposed by this newsroom three weeks ago, namely former PN ministers Ninu Zammit and Michael Falzon.

Mr Zammit hid a cool $3.2 million in his Swiss account while Mr Falzon held a more modest €465,000.

Both the former ministers have benefitted from tax amnesties, meaning the money they held abroad – or at least some of it – has been repatriated and all their past tax evasion has been forgiven.

Dr Muscat said yesterday that the sources of these two ministers’ funds are being investigated.

Both Dr Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil have been sweating it out these past few weeks, issuing stern warnings to their MPs and Party officials about the consequences of any potentially undeclared Swiss holdings.

Dr Busuttil was the first to issue a stern warning saying anyone on the Swiss Leaks list associated with the PN can consider himself suspended from the Party while Dr Muscat said he will take all necessary action against politically exposed persons on the list.

Politically exposed people include heads of state, government, ministers and former ministers, MPs and former MPs, senior civil servants and members of the judiciary, as well as their families.