Keith Schembri does not turn up in court ‘to answer questions about Panama and 17 Black’ - Busuttil

OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri did not turn up in court to answer questions on 17 Black and on the Panama Papers, Opposition MP Simon Busuttil has said in a tweet.

“Today Keith Schembri was due in court to answer questions on Panama and 17 Black. He did not turn up and asked to postpone. This is his libel case against me. Daphne had written about it in her last blog. He’s been running away from his own case since that day.”

The case in question is over libel proceedings Schembri filed against Busuttil over a speech given during an anti-corruption protest in March 2016.

The high-ranking government official is claiming that certain allegations made by Dr Busuttil during that public event, when addressing the masses gathered in the streets of the capital, amounted to libel in his regard.

Keith Schembri again came under the spotlight following the recent revelations regarding 17 Black ownership.

17 Black was listed as the ‘Main Client’ and ‘Possible Payer/Sender’ of Tillgate and Hearnville, the offshore Panamanian companies owned by OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi, leaked emails obtained by German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung showed. In reaction to the news story, Schembri had said that 17 Black never became clients of his business group. Mizzi had also said that there is no connection, direct or otherwise, between him, his company or trust, and any entity called 17 Black.