The Identità Agency has said that it, "as it has always done, will be fully and transparently cooperating in any investigation."

"This is because it was the Agency itself, after an internal investigation conducted by the Compliance and Expatriates Unit within the Identità Agency, that passed on the information, including all evidence found regarding some individuals, to the Malta Police for further investigation and to take any necessary action according to law. This investigation was instigated following internal verifications that occur consistently, carried out by the Compliance Section within the same Agency. In fact, some individuals were brought to Court and sentenced. This section investigates any suspicion that may arise during its verification exercises it carries out or based on reports it receives, and if these prove to be founded, it passes the information on to the concerned authorities."

The agency was reacting to the news that a magistrate upheld a request for a magisterial inquiry into an alleged Identita racket involving the alleged distribution of 18,000 false identity cards.

Identità, in its statement, emphasized that it will not tolerate any form of abuse or actions that could in any way affect its integrity and public trust. "Therefore, the Identità Agency is committed to continuing to fully cooperate in all investigations, including the Magisterial inquiry. In recent years, Identità has strengthened its governance systems to ensure greater transparency, systems which are being proactively reinforced for the benefit of citizens."