Government Head of Communications Kurt Farrugia, speaking in his official capacity, has accused the Chairman of the PANA Committee, Werner Langen, of being part of the PN’s campaign to divert attention “from the mess they are in”.
Last Saturday, Mr Langen wrote to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat urging him to use his authority to send OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri to Strasbourg on 18 May to be asked questions by the PANA Committee, which is officially called the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion within the EU Parliament MEP.
Chairman of the PANA Committee, Werner Langen
In the letter, Mr Langen said that the PANA committee visited Malta on 20 February and “had constructive talks with many interlocutors”. The OPM chief of staff, Keith Schembri, had refused to attend a session with the committee. Mr Langen forms part of the EPP party in the EU Parliament. The PN is also part of the group.
This newsroom sent a number of questions to Kurt Farrugia, asking whether Mr Schembri will attend the meeting, whether the Prime Minister discussed the issue with Mr Schembri, whether the PM will exert his authority and urge Mr Schembri to cooperate with the Committee, and whether a no-show by the OPM Chief of staff would be against the PM’s wishes.
In response however, Mr Farrugia said: “Keith Schembri already gave full information on this issue. It would have been more fruitful had Mr Langen kept to his institutional role rather than join a Nationalist Party campaign to try to divert attention from the mess they are in.”
Minister without Portfolio Konrad Mizzi, who was, along with Mr Schembri, at the heart of the local side of the Panama Papers scandal, had met with the committee while Mr Schembri not only refused, however did so in a manner that irritated the Chairman by sending a hand-delivered letter on the day that the Committee was in Malta. Both Mr Schembri and Minister Mizzi were found to have acquired companies in the secretive jurisdiction of Panama, while Mr Schembri was also found to have had a company in the British Virgin Islands. This was revealed thought he massive data leaks by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The Malta Independent is a partner of the consortium.
Back in February Mr Schembri, in his letter to the PANA Committee, had said that he is not an elected official, and holds a position of trust. It is also evident, he had said, "that there are those who are driven by insincere motivation and who do not truly care for the discussion driving the Committee, but who will stop at nothing, contriving lies and falsehoods for the sole purpose of harming this Government and the progress of this country".
Mr Schembri, in his letter last February, had also said; “it is uncertain whether the Committee enjoys a mandate and has sound legal standing to carry out its inquiry. That being said, and without prejudice thereto, looking at the terms of reference of the Committee tasked to inquire about the adoption and implementation of anti-money laundering and taxation Union law, I fail to identify the reason for the personalisation of the Committee's work.”
From Mr Farrugia’s reference to Mr Schembri already having provided ‘full information on this issue’, it is safe to assume that he will not be attending the PANA Committee meeting in Strasbourg, thereby again going against the request of the Pana Committee.
Since none of the other questions were answered, it seems that the OPM seems to be backing Mr Schembri’s decision, or is choosing not to interfere, as is evident by the non-answer to the questions “Will the Prime Minister use his authority to ask Mr Schembri to cooperate?” and “ If Mr Schembri does not attend, will this be against the Prime Minister's wishes?”
Earlier this week Minister Konrad Mizzi told journalists, when asked about the Panama Papers regarding the alleged joint-venture with Keith Schembri, that he exhausted the subject and that there was no joint venture between him and Mr Schembri. That reply, in addition to the reply provided by Mr Farrugia, seems to indicate that government is trying to quieten down the largest scandal this legislature, given that the elections are just possibly months, latest a year away.