Scicluna is living on a different planet, cannot escape reality of EBA report - Delia

Leader of the Nationalist Party (PN) Adrian Delia said that Finance Minister Edward Scicluna was “living on a different planet” during a press conference held yesterday afternoon, in which he once again called for the minister to shoulder political responsibility and resign.

The press conference came after Minister Scicluna had told journalists that the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) would give a strong legal reply to the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) damning conclusions on the conduct of the FIAU and its investigations into Pilatus Bank.

The minister also insisted that he would not “make anyone shoulder political responsibility” for the report – including himself.

“The minister cannot escape reality and the truth,” Delia said, stressing that the European Banking Authority was an autonomous institution.

“Scicluna has even alleged that the EBA is being run by a PN MEP,” he said.

“When you make a political mistake, you have to pay the consequences. You have to recognise when you’ve made an error and shoulder political responsibility. Taking into account what he wrote in an opinion piece yesterday, there is no road left but his resignation.” Delia was asked to comment on Scicluna’s claim that MP Mario de Marco, who was also at the press conference, had rushed out in the middle of meeting to go to the FIAU in defence of professional clients, the Italian iGaming operators Fenplay, who had alleged links to the ‘Ndrangheta. Delia said that de Marco’s work as a professional outside of his work as an MP had nothing to do with the issue at hand, explaining that the government played a much more significant role than an MP’s professional work. “That has nothing to do with the way the leadership of the country must react to such a report. These failings and irregularities have happened under Scicluna’s watch.” Pressed as to whether his call for resignation should extend to other individuals within the FIAU, Delia said that the ‘buck must stop’ with Scicluna, and any further action would be dealt with by his successor, stressing that the FIAU was an independent institution.