Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca approached another two banks in December to open accounts for Panama companies belonging to Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi and Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's Chief of Staff Keith Schembri, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reports.

The article stated that a Mossack Fonseca lawyer wrote to the financial advisor acting for Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri on 15 December, 2015, saying that BSI Bank would refuse their account "unless they were applying for immigration visas to Panama".

This followed previous attempts to open accounts with another six banks. However Mossack Fonseca lawyer Luis Quiel said he was trying to approach another two banks.

Parliament is currently holding a 13-hour marathon session following a motion of no confidence by government, sparked by the Panama scandal involving Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri.

In today's article, AFR explains that last week Mr Schembri said that a report in the AFR stating that Karl Cini had launched the process of setting up Tillgate Inc and Hearnville Inc, the two companes in question, just days after the PL won the elections back in March 2013 was baseless.

He had said that he acquired Tillgate was on 2 July 2015. "The acquisition of the company was solely for the purposes of its settlement into the New Zealand Trust, Haast Trust, and is intended solely for estate planning".

"Beyond this, I have no knowledge of any prior company activities save the fact that the company has never traded to date."

In a separate statement the managing partner of Nexia BT, Brian Tonna, said, "With regards to Tillgate Inc. and Hearnville Inc it has been repeatedly confirmed that the companies where [sic] transferred to our clients Mr Keith Schembri and Dr Konrad Mizzi on the 2nd of July 2015.

"Prior to said date the persons referred to had no interest, beneficial or otherwise, nor did they have any control over, the companies."

The article states however, that the Mossack Fonseca documents allow for a more complete chronology of events.

“In a 2013 email Mr Cini stated that the Panama company was not for Nexia BT, but that the ultimate beneficial owner would be a particular client which he did not identify in an email but would name in a Skype conversation”.

“Mr Cini initially wrote to Mr Quiel on March 14 2103, five days after the Malta election. When he received no replay he wrote again on March 21: ‘Hi Luis, I remind you about my email of the 14th March. When you can please send me details for setting up a panama company and possibly a trust,’” the article read

The article explains that on March 25, Mr Cini said the Panama company would not be a shelf company owned by Nexia BT: "I presume the information and documents you sent me relate to the setup of the new company in Panama and for the Trust”.

"We will prepare the requested information but the UBO [Ultimate Beneficial Owner] will not be Nexia BT. It will be an individual and I will speak to Luis on Skype to give him more details."

On March 21, according to the article, Mr Cini told Mossack Fonseca that Nexia would be taking over the administration of three BVI companies, including Colson Services Ltd, owned by Mr Schembri.

"The ultimate beneficiary shareholders of these [BVI] companies are very close and trusted clients of Brian Tonna, our managing partner, and the same clients I have also known personally for many many years," he said.

The AFR states that Mr Schembri, on April 17 that year, had given instructions for his Colson shares to be transferred to a nominee company in Panama, “while a Mossack Fonseca employee in Panama, Jacqueline Alexander, would replace Schembri as a nominee director of Colson”.