The Prime Minister's own cousin, Robert Falzon, had been serving as Malta's Consul in Algeria since March 2014 and throughout the entire span of the alleged Algerian visa scam, this newspaper has learnt.

This newspaper is also informed that the government removed Mr Falzon from his position in Algeria just three weeks before Opposition Deputy Leader Beppe Fenech Adami broke news of the allegations of a Maltese Schengen visa racket operating out of the Maltese Consulate General in Algeria.

Sources speaking with this newspaper have also informed us that the government had been aware of the Algerian visa scam since at least August of this year.

Mr Falzon, who we have confirmed is the cousin of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, had been serving as Malta's Consul in Algeria since March 2014, that is, for the last year and eight months, having been appointed just one year after Dr Muscat swept to power.

The Opposition has cried foul over the fact that some 7,000 Algerians have been granted Schengen visas by the Maltese Consulate in Algiers.  The racket, according to the Opposition, has been running for the last year and a half.  If the Opposition's claims are proven true, it would mean that the visa scam began under Mr Falzon's watch and that it ran through his entire tenure as Malta's Consul in Algeria.

At present, there is no Consul listed on the government's official website for the Algiers Consulate General, although various people speaking with this newspaper have confirmed that his name had previously featured on the page.

Mr Falzon is the Prime Minister's second cousin, since he is a first cousin of Dr Muscat's father.

And since Labour was elected to power, Mr Falzon has certainly seen his career prospects improve.  In December 2013, Mr Falzon was promoted within Malta Enterprise, where he had been working since 2004, to ME's head commercial representative to Algeria.  He was also appointed to the board of the Malta Council for Science and Technology in June 2013.

Spike in visas for Algerians down to new air route - PM

Speaking in Parliament earlier this week after a barrage of questions by Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil, Dr Fenech Adami and PN MP Francis Zammit Dimech, Dr Muscat insisted that the sudden spike in Schengen visas granted to Algerian nationals by Malta was down to the opening of a new air route to Algeria.

In February, Air Malta added a new route to Oran, Algeria's second-largest city, its second destination after the capital Algiers.

Moreover, Dr Muscat said, the number of Algerian Schengen visa applicants refused by Malta was close to 50%, among the highest of all European Union countries.

Dr Muscat also insisted that the Maltese government had had no contact from the French authorities over any alleged visa scam being run for Algerians, as the Opposition had suggested.

According to Dr Muscat, the Maltese government had actually received protests from the Algerian government because of the high level of scrutiny being applied to visa applications from Algerian nationals. 

He did, however, confirm that the government often receives reports of alleged wrongdoing in the issuing of visas, not just from Algeria but with respect to virtually all Maltese consulates.  Such reports, Dr Muscat said, were usually from people who felt aggrieved because their visa applications had been refused.

The Opposition's claims

The Opposition has been rattling its sabres on the issue for the last two weeks, since figures tabled in Parliament in reply to a parliamentary question by Dr Fenech Adami showed that the Maltese Consulate in Algeria had issued some 7,000 Schengen visas to Algerians over the last year and a half. 

The Opposition claims that Air Malta flights from Algeria are completely full but were practically empty when flying to Algeria. 

According to the Opposition, the scope was for Algerians to enter other European countries hours after landing in Malta, describing Malta as a 'weak' link. It has called on the government to investigate the Maltese Consulate in Algeria.  It is not known whether any such investigation has been launched, but judging by the Prime Minister's tone in parliament earlier this week, it appears there is little inclination on the government's part to do so.