Keith Schembri: no longer above the law

Disgraced former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri is claiming that his human rights are being breached by a decision, taken by the courts, to freeze his personal and company assets.

The freezing order was issued last week in the wake of the conclusion of a magisterial inquiry that probed allegations of corruption and money laundering by Schembri and Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna.

We do not yet know what the conclusions are, but the Attorney General deemed it necessary to ask the courts to freeze the assets of several companies and individuals, including Schembri’s own firms and those owned by Tonna.

The police have confirmed that a criminal investigation is ongoing and Schembri was once again interrogated under arrest before being released on police bail.

22 other individuals are contesting the court decision, but for the purpose of this editorial we will focus mainly on Schembri.

Firstly, this is not the first time that a court has ordered the freezing of assets belonging to someone suspected of money laundering or other serious crimes. The police and the courts do this for a number of reasons, including to see whether the money owned by such individuals came from crime or corruption, and to ensure that any evidence or money obtained illegally are not moved elsewhere.

Keith Schembri is not above the law. Maybe he used to be under Joseph Muscat’s administration, but it seems that he has finally lost that immunity, and he clearly does not like it.

Furthermore, Keith Schembri is not your average citizen. For six years, he held one of the highest positions in government. It has often been claimed that he was Malta’s de facto Prime Minister under Muscat – he called the shots and was practically untouchable.

Throughout these six years, Schembri’s name was constantly in the news for all the wrong reasons. He has been linked to countless scandals, including his Panama company.

His name has been mentioned in connection with alleged kickbacks, corruption and money laundering. He was the subject of magisterial inquiries and FIAU investigations. He has also been linked with the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, having allegedly tipped off his good friend and suspected mastermind Yorgen Fenech about his impending arrest and about the police investigation.

He was allegedly involved in an attempt to pin the blame on a former Cabinet minister and passed on instructions to Fenech via a third person.

It was about time that the authorities wake up from their slumber and take action against Schembri.

And action has finally been taken. For, let us not forget that the freezing order was not the only action taken over the past couple of weeks. The Malta Financial Services Authority has slapped Tonna’s companies with enforcement directives, practically banning the firms from operating. Serious action has always been taken against the company by the Malta Stock Exchange, and the Accountancy Board has finally suspended Brian Tonna and Karl Cini’s warrants.

All these facts point towards more than just a suspicion of crime by those slapped with the freezing order.

Schembri is now claiming that his rights are being breached and that he cannot pay his employees, but perhaps he should have thought about all this before he took the decisions he took.

Let us keep in mind that he did not enter into these shady dealings merely as a businessman. All this happened while he occupied one of the most powerful seats in government.

One hopes that the authorities do not take undue time to investigate and, if need be, prosecute, because ultimately the employees are not at fault here, yet they are suffering from such a decision.

But on the other hand, the courts did the right thing. A serious investigation is long overdue and the country is still yearning for justice.

There were times in the past when freezing orders were uncalled for. Daphne Caruana Galizia herself had her assets frozen as a result of multiple libel suits that were instituted against her, in a bid to shut her up. Daphne faced many court cases as a result of her investigative work, and many, back then, supported those who took her to court and tried to ruin her financially, but time is proving her right.

Keith Schembri’s case is very different.

We are talking here about alleged corruption and money laundering, as confirmed last week by Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa.

The investigations need to continue and conclude. The freezing order is not gratuitous. It is necessary for the authorities to get to the bottom of this story once and for all.