The Egrant Report speaks of the biggest lie in Maltese political history, a lie about Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his wife Michelle Muscat, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said.
Bonnici said that the magistrate conclude that the lie was an attempt to frame up the Prime Minister. “Saying that Egrant belongs to Muscat, his wife or any of his family is just a big lie,” Bonnici said.
Opposition Leader Adrian Delia was given a full copy of the inquiry report on Monday, and this was published on Tuesday.
Bonnici stood by the Attorney General despite the Constitutional case which yesterday overturned his decision to not give the Egrant report to the Opposition.
“The leader of the Opposition is saying that his right to freedom of speech was broken, and we have the Court which made the decision in his favour. The Attorney General made his decision, in the most liberal way. I was informed that the Attorney General then provided the report to the leader of the Opposition.”
When asked whether he used Nexia BT services, he clarified that he appointed Nexia BT as consultants in 2014, and reduced their involvements to a part-time role when the Panama Papers case erupted. “I made it very clear that I appointed Nexia BT as consultants, but I stopped using their services. In the short period I used their services the roles were principally about EU funds,” explained Bonnici. When asked whether he advised the government to end all contracts with Nexia BT, he answered that he did not know if other ministries are using their services.