The Greek husband of the Pilatus bank whistle-blower told the court that his wife did not receive any pay for the work at Pilatus bank.

Taking the witness stand, the man said that the bank had given his wife some money, but it wasn't for wages. "She received nothing as far as I know personally." He said that he knows this as he has to pay rent as well as legal fees out of his own salary. "We changed three lawyers till now." He also confirmed that he has been married to his wife for 11 years and that prior to Malta, the two lived in Ireland for two years where his wife had a residency permit and a job.

The whistle-blower is a Russian national who claimed to have seen two declarations of trust which expose how the wife of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Michelle Muscat, is truly the ultimate beneficial owner of Egrant Inc, the third company named in the Panama Papers scandal. Following the news that the whistle-blower had decided to testify in the ongoing Magisterial inquiry into the allegations about Egrant, she provided this newsroom with a full interview, and said that the bank had never paid her for two months and a half months of work.

She eventually filed a case against the bank over this dispute, which in turn filed a case of fraud against her for using company money to book personal flights.

In a previous sitting, the whistle-blower had said that  she had received some form of money daily in order to buy day-to-day things for the bank, and she was also asked to make payments to clients in cash through sealed envelopes and deliver them to the client at various hotels throughout Malta.

Continuing with his testimony and cross examination conducted by lawyer Stefano Filletti on behalf of the bank, the whistle-blower's husband in this hearing said that he was the one who suggested his wife apply at Pilatus bank as he himself had gone for two interviews there. "She then worked as the Chairman's assistant."

The cross-examination then moved onto the date the couple received their id card. The husband said that the couple first went to Identity Malta either in December 2015 or January 2016. He said however, that they had to go multiple times as he kept being told that he needed to bring other documents. "I and my children received our cards in April 2016, while my wife received hers in June 2016." He was not sure when the actual application for the ID card was submitted, and he was also not sure when his wife had filed for national insurance.

Identity Malta representative Ryan Spagnol also testified. He said third country nationals married to EU citizens apply as family members of EU nationals. "It's a card and they have rights of free movement, the same rights as an EU citizen.   

"They both applied 7 April 2016.  On 13 June 2016 she signed as having received the card."

Asked about the need for an ID card and employment, he said that "the card is a formality, so it cant inhibit a person. Employment is not dependent on the card, the fact that a person is married to an EU national gives them the rights." 

Asked about the couple having to go to Identity Malta several times before submitting their application, speaking generally the representative said that such persons would not require much documentation however if there is something missing then it is not accepted. He also confirmed that his wife's application was dependent on her husband's, who filed as a self-employed person and thus would need a few supporting documents relating to VAT etc. Records relating to the number of visits to Identity Malta before the application was officially filed are not kept, he said.

Marcel Bonnici from Jobs Plus also testified. He stressed that a non-EU national married to an EU national follow the same employment procedure as an EU national, and a Maltese person.  The procedure is that when employed by a company, the employer will open an engagement form with Jobs Plus. He said that one does not necessarily need an ID card, and passports are also accepted.

As for National Insurance, he said that one can apply for a national insurance number through the engagement form.

He said that according to the whistle-blower'srecords, Pilatus bank never submitted an engagement form for her.