At the time Prime Minister Robert Abela was still an MP, he and his wife Lydia Abela received three payments from alleged kidnapper Christian Borg, whilst Borg received a payment from Lydia Abela, Times of Malta reported.

Borg is currently being accused of, along with five other men, kidnapping a person, driving without a license, threatening police officials, among others. Borg is also the owner of a controversial car rental business, No Deposit Cars.

According to a report by the Sunday Times of Malta, on 3 December 2018, there was a payment of €25,000 between Borg and Lydia Abela. The next day, there was the same payment between the same persons, it was reported.

That same day, on 4 December, Borg made the same payment of €25,000 to Robert Abela, it reports.

Six months before these payments were made, the now Prime Minister had entered into a contract to buy a plot of land in Zabbar, transferring his share to Borg a few months later.

From this, Abela received €45,000 for the property sale.

The Times reported that in February 2019, Lydia Abela issued a cheque of €48,000 to Borg. A spokesperson in the Office of the Prime Minister said that this cheque was tied to an attachment order by the Court.

Abela's law firm had represented Borg in a court case, and this amount was returned to Borg when the case was closed.

Times of Malta also reported that Borg has 170 cars registered under his name, and 1,500 cars registered under a number of his companies.

Among the entities who are leasing cars from Borg's companies are LESA and Transport Malta.

Earlier reports showed that LESA is still renting 24 cars from the company Princess Operations Limited, whose sole shareholder is Borg.