‘Malta Files’ contain no secrets, says PM

VALLETTA: There are no secrets to be found in the ‘ Malta Files’, a cache of leaked documents being pored over by European newspapers, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat insisted Saturday.

Having come under pressure after his family became embroiled in the Panama Papers scandal, the premier earlier this month called new polls for June 3.

“Nothing in the Malta Files is actually secret. Claims of offshore companies in Malta are factually incorrect,” he told reporters.

“We will be solid against this attack which we had long seen coming,” he said, alluding to the allegations.

Muscat was elected with a strong majority in 2013 but his tenure has been riddled with allegations of corruption and mysterious dealings with countries such as Azerbaijan.

News outlets have started publishing their Malta Files findings and more information will be released over the next two weeks, just before the elections.

The Panama Papers scandal involved a massive data leak from the Mossack Fonseca law firm that revealed the secretive offshore entities used by many of the world’s wealthy to stash assets.

The months-long ‘ Malta Files’ investigation into tax evasion, money laundering and corruption has mobilised 49 journalists in 16 countries, according to the French online news site Mediapart.

The journalists have a list of people and entities linked to 53,247 companies registered in Malta, thanks to a 150,000- document cache. — AFP