At first we thought it was a joke - PM Joseph Muscat
When Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his wife Michelle heard the rumours that latter’s name would emerge as the owner of Egrant, they thought it was a joke, Muscat said during his testimony before Magistrate Aaron Bugeja.
Muscat’s testimony, which dates back to 22 April 2017, is part of the 1,500-page Egrant inquiry report published on Tuesday evening by Opposition leader Adrian Delia. Muscat had asked for an inquiry to investigate allegations that his wife Michelle owns the secret Panama company Egrant.
“At no point in time did my wife or I – but my wife will speak for herself as well – ever have anything to do with the company. We have no account or anything else that has not been declared in our deceleration of assets...” the prime minister told the inquiry
Muscat said that he had asked his lawyers to contact the police commissioner and ask him to inform a duty magistrate to investigate allegations to ensure all the facts and truth come out. “This is all fabrication and speculation. The rumours we had been hearing were initially against me, but then we began to hear through the grapevine that my wife’s name would come out and at first we treated this information as a joke, to tell you the truth.
“What can I say about the allegations...? I categorically deny that my wife or I have been involved in this company, nor have we any form of trust or documents that mention either myself or my wife, or any member of the family.” Muscat went on to mention that none of his family members were in any way connected to Pilatus Bank.
Muscat said that the story was fabricated and that this was serious, as someone had rushed the process of getting the documents transcribed. This, he said, affected his wife and left a mark on their children, who had seen their mother so worried.
Muscat was asked whether Michelle Muscat and Michelle Buttigieg had ever worked together as claimed by Daphne Caruana Galizia in her article on 21 April 2017. In her blog post, Caruana Galizia claimed that Michelle Buttigieg owned a costume jewellery business in partnership with Michelle Muscat, and would sell the jewellery at a number of events. Muscat said that his wife had done no such work and he did not know about the website. He said that during his tenure as prime minister, she had not been involved in any such activities.
When asked about the relationship he had with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his daughter Leyla Aliyeva, Muscat said that he had met the president twice in Azerbaijan. He said that both were bilateral meetings and that he also met with Ilham in Brussels during a summit. He said that during the meetings in Azerbaijan, which took place in Baku, Aliyev had shown interest in strengthening the relationship between the two countries as well as interest in investing. This happened after there were shareholders who won the contract of the power station (Socar). That day, they shook hands. There was another time when Muscat met him in Lithuania, during another similar meeting.
Regarding Leyla Aliyeva, Muscat said he had never met her. However, he claimed to have possibly met her mother, but could not be sure of this as they look similar. He said that Leyla was in Malta for a visit organised by the Office of the President. He explained an exhibition was held by Tony Cassar at the Palace and that under the patronage of Michelle Muscat she was asked to host a lunch for President Aliyev’s daughter. This was the only time the family encountered Leyla.
Muscat was asked whether he or his family had ever exchanged money for favours, to which he replied: “I categorically deny that there is any type of relation… I have always done my work without asking for anything... and that is why I find this inquiry extremely important. I am not under any type of pressure but I wish to make this point… you need to realise that my political career is not that long – only 25 years. I have been confronted a number of times with political arguments and political causes… this is the first time such a lie has been manufactured, and I want to tell the truth from the beginning till the end, as this is hurting my wife and my family, and we have lost our serenity. That is why we are here and were offered legal advice, and we are here simply because we want to tell the truth.”
He said that he wanted the whole truth to come out, and swore that he had full belief in his work and wanted to ensure that his political career remained good and serene.
As the case was about to close, Muscat asked to add an extra part to his in testimony
“Yesterday I was questioned, and I want to make myself extremely clear: if I knew the owner of Pilatus, I think it is good that I make it clear that I have nothing to do with the owner... my relationship with the owner of Pilatus Bank is the same as with other owners of many other investments, and if he is in this country, I would meet him.”
He continued to say that he had met the owner of Pilatus Bank, Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, six times during a number of social activities. He also said that he and Michelle had been invited to his wedding in Florence.