Joseph Muscat still holds the key to the whole truth, Caruana Galizia family say

● Family has accepted falsified documents conclusions - Government

In an official statement, the family of Daphne Caruana Galizia questioned why Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had not sacked Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, why he was still engaging Brian Tonna on government business and why Muscat was not interested in finding out who the actual or intended ultimate beneficiary owner of Egrant was.

The statement read that Magistrate Aaron Bugeja was unable to say with confidence that the Prime Minister is not guilty, nor could he state unequivocally that the allegations are false as he has been unable to prove the ownership of Egrant.

This was because whilst in the cases of the companies Hearnville, Tillgate and Torbridge Services the company owners were known to be Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri due to leaked emails between Nexia BT and Mossack Fonseca in Panama, it was not possible to know the owner of Egrant because Nexia BT’s Karl Cini insisted on advising Mossack Fonseca of the owner’s name by Skype.

The family said that any hopes of the inquiry finding conclusive evidence were false, and they were ones which Daphne Caruana Galizia never shared. Indeed, the statement read, that the slain journalist had correctly predicted that Magistrate Bugeja would be unable to prove the ultimate beneficiary owner and that the United Arab Emirates would not comply with the Magistrate’s request for information.

The Prime Minister’s consultant Brian Tonna had claimed that Egrant was owned by him; but this claim was immediately shown to be inconclusive, and the published excerpts of Magistrate Bugeja’s report show that the inquiry has given no confirmation on this claim either.

Daphne Caruana Galizia knew that the only way for the truth to come out about Egrant was for authorities to investigate Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi, Brian Tonna, Karl Cini and all the remaining staff at Pilatus Bank. The authorities failed to do this, the statement read.

The fact that Muscat has now called for the resignation of Simon Busuttil means that he “clearly shares” the family’s view that setting up a secret Panamanian company immediately after taking office is wrong. “Until Joseph Muscat sacks Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi he will continue to be complicit in their crimes,” the family wrote.

The statement also highlights that one question has not been answered yet; that which shows who owns the now defunct Egrant. This is a question of public interest and the responsibility of the Prime Minister is to prioritise that public interest.

With all this in mind, the family asked that “if secret ownership of a Panama company is a resignation offence” and if Egrant is indeed not of the Prime Minister, then why had Muscat not sacked Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, why was he still engaging Brian Tonna on government business and why was he not interested in finding out who the actual or intended ultimate beneficiary owner of Egrant was.

“The answers to these questions are unlikely to exonerate Joseph Muscat. Malta needs the whole truth and Joseph Muscat still holds the key,” the family concluded.

In reaction to this statement, the Government of Malta noted that the inquiry “leaves no doubt” that the allegations against Muscat were “false and fabricated”, and that Caruana Galizia herself had shown confidence in the process by testifying before the inquiring magistrate.

The government also noted how the family did not contest that the key document that Daphne Caruana Galizia and Maria Efimova referred to as proof were falsified, and said that this meant that the family had accepted this conclusion.

“The inquiry speaks for itself,” the government said and they would not, “engage on facts proven by the inquiry itself, but will object on further false statements intended at continuing what is by now certified as the greatest lie in Malta’s political history.”