The Identita' scandal, in which thousands of false identity cards were allegedly sold, could be considered a threat to national security, with families' addresses being stolen, Repubblika said.

The NGO was commenting on the news that a magistrate upheld a request for a magisterial inquiry into an alleged Identita' racket.

Repubblika noted that once again it had to be a private initiative that brought a serious case of corruption before the Courts. It said that a Magistrate received the request made by Jason Azzopardi for a magisterial inquiry into the serious allegation that thousands of fake identity cards based on falsified documents, were issued. It added that these Maltese citizens found out that their homes were being used as false addresses for people they had never heard of.

Repubblika said that despite the documentation and proof already in the public domain, the police have done nothing. It said that presumably, if someone had to ask Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa' why he did nothing, he would have answered "[it is] still processing"

Repubblika said that meanwhile these allegations aren't only shocking because government officials with political connections "pocketed thousands", which "more or less has become the norm", but rather because the allegations show an enormous risk to national safety as well a risk for the families living in houses whose addresses were stolen. It said that should these allegations be proven true, then it is clear that the Maltese authorities don't have an idea where people live, they don't know if the people showing on public records are real and live where they say they live and so, should they need to find them, most likely they won't.

Reppublika said that they were not surprised since the scheme to sell passports is based on the lies of the addresses of those who buy a Maltese passport. It said that the government is not surprised that the lies it institutionalised with the passport scheme now became multiplied by many thousands through the illegal sale of identity cards.

Repubblika said that these are not only ethical or criminal problems, but also an indication that the Maltese state lost the capacity to administer even the most basic thing: the official identity certification of people who live in Malta. It said that when one sees a Maltese identity card, now one doubts if they can believe the information it contains.

Repubblika went on to thank Jason Azzopardi, and it thanked the sources that helped Azzopardi make his request for a magisterial inquiry, and partners with his appeal for more witnesses and victims to tell the inquiry what they know about these allegations. It said that it sees the need for an administrative inquiry to publicly and independently evaluate the national security risks and the viability of the public records because of what has been alleged to have happened in this scandal.