Opposition Leader calls for removal of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri after 17 Black revelations
Opposition Leader Adrian Delia has called for the removal of Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri.
He said that if Prime Minister Joseph Muscat does not remove them, then the Opposition will not be silent and not stop there.
Delia said that Joseph Muscat has a choice, either to defend Malta or defend Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri.
A joint investigation by The Times of Malta and Reuters has found that local investigators were given an intelligence report naming Electrogas director and CEO of the Tumas Group Yorgen Fenech as the owner of 17 Black.
Tumas Group is one of the partners in the Electrogas power station. The power station had been pushed by Konrad Mizzi back when he was Energy Minister
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, and published by the Daphne Project previously revealed.
Delia said that the media previously reported that the FIAU should investigate money laundering in the case of the Panama companies.
He said Joseph Muscat is not doing anything to defend Malta’s reputation.
He said one fact after another is being revealed and is damaging the island’s reputation and is putting into peril Maltese jobs, the financial services and gaming sectors.
He mentioned the recent European Banking Authority report which scolded the Maltese FIAU.
Asked by this newsroom to clarify what action he will take should Muscat not remove the two, Delia said that they should resign at once of their own accord as happens in every single EU state.
“If not the PM should take that decision and remove them. If he fails to do that then we will act accordingly,” he said. Pressed by other sections of the media to highlight exactly what action he would take, he mentioned that the PN has taken other forms of action in other situations, mentioning a number of court cases on other issues.
“The PN will act accordingly in defending Malta’s rights and the workplace for the Maltese people.”
Muscat said that government keeps being silent on scandalous issues, and prefers to defend the people close to him than the country
Asked for his comments about the whole picture, and how it paints the business community in relation to ties with government, he said that his interest is not the ones who are in business but the ones who shouldn’t be, “and specifically members of government”.
He said that the Opposition is there to promote good and decent business, and that they are also here to sanction the government when he falters, to point out where they are wrong, to push for action, responsibility, resignations and others if this is the case.
Asked if the Opposition will call for a vote of no confidence in Mizzi, he said that they will wait for the Prime Minister to act, and that “his lack of action will be a message in itself.” He said that the PN will not be hesitant or fail in doing what is best for the country.
The Tumas Group is one of the partners in the Electrogas power station. The power station had been pushed by Konrad Mizzi back when he was Energy Minister.
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, and published by the Daphne Project previously revealed.
Keith Schembri, in reaction to the news story, said that 17 Black never became clients of his business group, The Times of Malta reported.
“17 Black and MacBridge were included in draft business plans for my business group as potential clients. My companies make dozens of business plans such as these.
“However, it is a fact that neither 17 Black nor MacBridge ever became clients of my business group, and no transactions were ever recorded with these companies, or with me personally. I have no knowledge of the transfers referred to, nor any knowledge of the alleged payment,” Schembri had previously said.
Mizzi had also issued a denial, saying that there is no connection, direct or otherwise, between Mizzi, his company or trust, and any entity called 17 Black.
The Times of Malta reports that the intelligence report was compiled by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU), and that it looks into energy projects by Mizzi.
Another source familiar with the subject in the United Arab Emirates told Reuters that account records named Fenech as 17 Black’s owner.
Reuters reported that it saw banking correspondence that summarised 17 Black’s banking activity in Dubai, the Times of Malta reports, adding that the correspondence stated that when a 17 Black bank account was opened in Dubai in June 2015 at Noor bank, the company said it was owned by Yorgen Fenech.
The report reads that the name of 17 Black was changed in March 2017 to Wings Development. The Times reports that Fenech has denied having any links with the Panama companies or any politically exposed persons, and that he declined to comment on whether he owns 17 Black or Wings development.
Partit Demokratiku called for an immediate and thorough Police investigation into the 17 Black allegations.
It has become undeniable that the rule of law in Malta has broken down despite the massive propaganda campaign by the Government and its network of Yes-Men in key positions.
Our rotted political system is a result of compromises and eyes being closed by entities and irresponsible politicians.
Partit Demokratiku denounced what it described as “our decayed political system”.
In another reaction, Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi challenged the Prime Minister to sue him for libel after calling him corrupt and of taking kickbacks.
Funds frozen in 17 Black’s account belong to the Maltese people - David Casa
The identity of the owner of 17 Black was revealed following an investigation on the FIAU report David Casa published in July this year. 17 Black is the Dubai company that was to funnel €150,000 monthly to Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri. Two months ago, David Casa called on Noor Bank to investigate the activity of its client - 17 Black. He provided Noor Bank with evidence of 17 Black’s involvement in criminal activity.
The PN’s Head of Delegation in the European Parliament David Casa stated: “I have now written to the UAE Central Bank to safeguard those funds and have them subsequently returned to the Maltese people. The ownership of 17 Black proves large scale corruption and criminal activity in the power station project. It proves that Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi are corrupt politicians stealing from the Maltese people. And it proves that our institutions have been captured to protect them.”
Daphne’s allegations have been corroborated Rezistenza Malta
“The news regarding the company 17 Black corroborates what had been exposed by assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia,” Reżistenza Malta said in a statement. “Malta is indeed afflicted by an epidemic of corruption.
“It is evident that the vast majority of the Maltese institutions betrayed the Maltese citizens by allowing a network of corruption connected with international organized crime to establish itself and flourish locally.
“We are expecting the Maltese Police to effect arrests and interrogations, to seek the assistance of foreign security services and above all to identify and prosecute the politicians and public servants who are implicated in this network of criminality.
“We appeal to those in key positions who still uphold the values of justice and rule of law to show courage and insist for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. Corruption robs a nation from the future it deserves.”