Prime Minister Robert Abela refused to answer questions about his involvement in a property deal back in 2018 with a man charged with serious crimes.

The Times of Malta reported that the deal netted Abela €45,000, “but the timeline of events raises suspicions over why he entered a contract to buy a green field only to transfer his stake in that contract to auto-dealer and alleged kidnapper Christian Borg a few months later.”

Abela said that the news report is a “spin” and that he had nothing to add.

Abela had a stake in a property deal back in 2018 which was eventually transferred to Christian Borg, a man recently charged with kidnapping. It has also been reported that Borg and his associates are being investigated by the police over suspected narcotics smuggling and money laundering. Abela was Borg's lawyer in the past.

The Times had reported that: "The property deal in question involved what is known as assignment of rights (ċessjoni ta' dritijiet fuq konvenju). This is a legal mechanism that allows the proposed buyer in a promise of sale agreement on a property to pass those purchasing rights over to a third party." It also reports that it can be legitimately used if a proposed buyer finds another party willing to purchase the property instead, but quotes sources as saying that it can also be known to be used to avoid tax or conceal irregular payments.