Neville Gafa denies receiving any payment for medical visas
The statement was in response to an article published on The Malta Independent on Sunday titled “Government official was netting up to €150,000 a month in medical visas scam,” and was sent through his Legal Procurator, former Police Commissioner Peter Paul Zammit.
“I, Neville Gafa, deny any and all allegations of misconduct and or bribery this article alleges and deny that I have ever received any monies in any way or manner aside from my due government salary”.
Mr Gafa, in his statement, said that the public have a right to know that the Maltese government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Libyan authorities to help in proving medical assistance to persons injured in this conflict.
“The persons who were to be provided this service were to be identified by the Libyan authorities and cleared from their end, and subsequently reviewed by the local secret service, police, immigration and medical departments and services.
“The persons concerned were not requested to pay anything, not even the €66 visa fee which was waived by the Maltese government.
“Only the accompanying family members were requested the visa fee.
“All expenses as regard the patient were entered into a government account as debt to be subsequently settled by the Libyan authorities.
“No fees or charges were levied by myself or the respective departments for the vetting of the persons concerned”.
In that article, transcripts from Viber conversations between middleman Khaled Ben Nasan and Mr Gafà made available to this newspaper show how the former regularly hounded Mr Gafà for the funds to be returned to the applicants over the first three months of the year.
In the transcripts, Mr Gafà never questions or denies Mr Ben Nasan’s claims for reimbursement for the Libyan nationals who did not receive their visas, and instead acknowledges the fact but continually postpones various requested meetings.
In his statement today however, Mr Gafa never once mentioned his part in the Viber conversations, and turned the situation onto the middleman.
“The article gives the impression that Mr Neville Gafa went to collect monies in Libya from injured persons, when if anything it is the alleged middleman, who had no legal or statutory rights to enter into these government to government negotiations, who results from the same article as having collected monies on the unfounded pretext of having Libyan or Maltese clearance”.