Embattled Minister Konrad Mizzi said he will be presenting a libel suit against The Malta Independent following the article published today “Konrad Mizzi did not divulge he was a politician – co-founder of Mossack Fonseca”.

The article quotes Ramon Fonseca, co-founder of the law firm that has been embroiled in an international scandal after the Panama Papers were revealed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on Sunday, as he was reported in La Estrella, a Panama newspaper.

“What escaped us is that this man (Konrad Mizzi) is a politician and we do not deal with politicians anymore,” Fonseca said.

Dr Mizzi has once again used the state-funded Department of Information to lash out at the media, the same way he did yesterday when he announced he will be filing a libel suit against Times of Malta, which withdrew the story.

In the DOI statement, Dr Mizzi said:

“Reference is made to the false statements reported today on the front page of The Malta Independent.

“Dr Mizzi unequivocally states that as part of the client engagement and due diligence process, he has duly reported his status as a politically exposed person.

“The article in The Malta Independent is misleading and false. Dr Mizzi is filing a libel suit against The Malta Independent.”

Since the eruption of the Panamagate scandal, the minister has refused to give an interview to The Malta Independent and questions that this newspaper has sent to the minister have remained unanswered a number of times.