Prime Minister Robert Abela must answer to the questions concerning his involvement in a property deal with an alleged criminal, who was recently charged with kidnapping, PN MP Jason Azzopardi said today.
Times of Malta reported on Sunday that Abela had a stake in a 2018 property deal which included paperwork that could potentially be used as a legal loophole to avoid tax exposure.
The stake was revealed to be transferred to Christian Borg who, along with five others, was charged with kidnapping and is believed to be the mastermind of a crime group.
Abela has since confirmed that he had acted as Borg’s lawyer in the past, commenting also that Borg’s current lawyer is PN MP Mario de Marco.
“The PN is asking these questions, which the Prime Minister is obligated to answer in the interests of Maltese businesses and the public, who are suffering the repercussions of the country’s grey listing,” said Azzopardi, adding that people are being treated as criminals for simply going to the bank to cash a cheque.
Businesses are suffering new and extra expenses for excessive due diligence, he said.
Azzopardi said that Abela has the legal obligation to answer as to how much the value of the promise of sale stood for, and to be ready to publish the date of the agreement, as well as the timeframe for which it was valid.
Azzopardi also questioned if there was only one transaction transfer to Borg, as well as what type of property was being bought. He challenged Abela to answer if he had done due diligence on the client and on himself respectively, as obliged by law.
“Can Abela reassure the public that these funds were clean, and not a case of money laundering?” questioned Azzopardi, asking also for fiscal proof and documentation of the transaction.
Azzopardi questioned if Abela has ever had wealth or property deals with the tal-Maksar Brothers Adrian and Robert Agius, who currently stand accused of supplying the bomb used to kill journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017.
He challenged Abela to provide a guarantee that this case did not involve money laundering and questioned if he obtained clearance from the Chamber of Advocates, which prohibits a lawyer to do any sort of business with their client. Azzopardi questioned what the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) will be doing regarding the case.
PN candidate Errol Cutajar said that the public is suffering excessive problems of bureaucracy and that Abela should hold himself accountable, as he has the duty to clear the country from the FATF grey list.
Upon questions by the media, Azzopardi said that lawyer Mario de Marco has never been involved with business with Borg, as he abided by the law and ethics as a lawyer.
Azzopardi refused to answer questions about Nationalist MP’s Joe Ellis’ allegations of tax evasion and failure to pay wages to his employees, claiming he will not comment on speculation, nor is he privy to.