Joseph Muscat feels vindicated as police ‘take steps’ over Egrant ‘lie’

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday appeared to have felt vindicated that the police “have taken steps against two persons” over the Egrant allegations.

On Wednesday, Magistrate Joe Mifsud recused himself from hearing a perjury case against Egrant whistleblower Maria Efimova and former FIAU manager Jonathan Ferris.

Efimova is a former Pilatus Bank employee who had claimed that the Panama company Egrant belonged to former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s wife, Michelle. The allegation was at the time echoed by the late Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

After the Egrant allegations were made, former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had asked for a magisterial inquiry to be launched, and Magistrate Aaron Bugeja – who headed the inquiry – did not find any evidence that Egrant belonged to the Muscats.

Ferris had, during his inquiry testimony, said that he identified a $600,000 transaction from an Azeri politically exposed person to a company owned by a close friend of Michelle Muscat, and that the payment was masked as a loan. The inquiry, however, did not find any trace of the alleged transaction. The Magistrate who had handled the Egrant Inquiry – Aaron Bugeja, had asked the police to question Ferris about how he had reached such a conclusion. Perjury charges were subsequently filed against Ferris. Ferris maintains that he is innocent.

Magistrate Joe Mifsud recused himself from the perjury case on Wednesday, as he is also presiding over the case in which Efimova is charged with having made false allegations against three police officers (one of whom was Ferris). As such, Magistrate Mifsud said he abstained in the interest of the administration of justice.

Former Prime Minister Muscat filed a comment on Facebook yesterday about the situation.

“Over two years from when it was confirmed that a planned lie, with false documents and signatures, worked on by a number of people not only to tarnish my reputation and that of my wife, but also to destabilise the country, the authorities took steps against two people, as directed in the conclusions of the independent magisterial inquiry that I had asked for,” he wrote.

“Over this period, including when I was Prime Minister, I never forced or took any action that can be interpreted as pressure for the magisterial inquiry decisions to be implemented, in order to give the authorities the space to work as they see fit.”

“I hope that aside from the work that was done in the inquiry, all the necessary investigations take place regarding this case, and even to find out who was the brains behind this whole plan. I hope that the people brought in will collaborate in order for the whole truth to be known and to know who the other people involved are, including those who are still hiding behind their professions.

“Lawyer Paul Lia will appear as Parte Civile for my wife and I,” he said.

The company Egrant had come under the microscope due to the Panama Papers revelations, during the time when former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri and former Minister Konrad Mizzi’s Panama companies had come to light.