Foreign forensic experts in the Pilatus Bank magisterial inquiry had recommended that the Maltese authorities seek information from US authorities, or through a discovery application to US correspondent banks, whether the alleged USD 1 million Egrant transaction took place and if so which banks were involved, Repubblika President Robert Aquilina has said.
Aquilina spoke during a protest march that took place in Valletta on Tuesday evening. Protesters gathered in Republic Street, and marched down in the direction of the law courts.
The front row carried a banner which read: "We want action against corruption."
Aquilina recounted an encounter with lawyer Pawlu Lia, who Aquilina said was the lawyer of former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the Labour Party, and also used to be Keith Schembri's lawyer.
Aquilina said that Lia had confronted him after he had mentioned that the magistrate investigating the complaint made by Repubblika over the lack of an investigation in the Pilatus Bank case is Lia's daughter-in-law. Magistrate Nadine Lia is overseeing the case challenging the police to act against Pilatus bank officials.
Repubblika made claims that a conflict of interest due to Nadine Lia being the presiding magistrate in the case is prohibiting the law courts from delivering an impartial judgment.
Aquilina said that "magistrate Lia should have the decency to recuse herself from the case made by us (Repubblika) against the Police Commissioner with regards to Pilatus Bank."
He went on to say that the judicial process should be impartial and having a magistrate whose father-in-law is the lawyer of a critical person in the case should not be allowed.
Aquilina then said he has evidence that the Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa was ordered by an inquiring magistrate not only to investigate the Pilatus Bank officials, but to undertake criminal proceedings against them, and then read from the inquiry report.
He also said that another part of the report saw foreign forensic experts recommend "seeking information from US authorities, or through a discovery application to US correspondent banks, of whether the alleged USD 1.017 million Egrant transaction took place and if so which banks were involved."
Repubblika will follow up by putting Pawlu Lia on the stand in court in order to show that a conflict of interest in the case exists and for an impartial magistrate to be given the case.
"We are in a situation where we have to convince the court, that the court had ordered the Police Commissioner and the Attorney General to investigate. Magistrate Lia instead of doing what is right, has focused her canons on us and ordered the police to investigate me (Robert Aquilina) in order to find out my sources."
Aquilina confirmed that the he saw the sensitive documents but will never bow down and reveal his sources.
Manuel Delia also addressed those present and took aim at the Electrogas deal. He said that bit by bit the evidence is emerging, and said that both Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa and his predecessor, Lawrence Cutajar "slept for six years."
Speaking more generally, he said: "How they used to say 'where is the proof?' Politicians of every colour used to close their eyes to the smoke and insist that the fire was only in the minds of Daphne Caruana Galizia, her children, and the colleagues in her profession. And one piece of evidence after another, one hidden contract after another, one Petrus wine after another, one hidden bank account after another, journalists and activists found the evidence and published them. Now they no longer say 'where is the proof."
He said that now, however, "it is no longer l-aqwa zmien" for the people. Those who jump for the government say that no one predicted a war was coming. But a storm will always arise." He took aim at Joseph Muscat, his ministers, Yorgen Fenech and friends, saying that they looked out for themselves.
Joanna Agius, an OccupyJustice Activist also spoke. She expressed her anger at the country being ruined by a clique.
She said civil society has to take the reins into its hands in order for, someday, justice to be done.
"Corruption overtook out country, especially over the past years. It is always growing and becoming more obvious. Why? As those involved, I think, have the assurance that they have nothing to fear. They are comfortable in the fact that steps won't be taken against them. They are caught thanks to the work of investigative journalists, but nothing is done by the police or AG."
She took aim at the authorities over the Pilatus Bank case, and said €7.5 million was spent on the inquiry. "What happened? Absolutely nothing!" She said that the commissioner chose to ignore the orders of the inquiring magistrate, and that the AG did nothing.
Photos: Giuseppe Attard