Muscat’s chief of staff Keith Schembri last year confirmed that 17 Black, a Dubai company owned by Yorgen Fenech, had been included in draft business plans for his Kasco business group as potential clients. However, he said that neither he nor any of his companies had ever conducted any transactions with either of them.

“For this reason alone, obviously along with a million other reasons, Muscat should have already resigned on the spot,” Debono said. “I don’t want to get into the merits of the case at all and obviously everyone has a right to the fair hearing, the right to which is being broken so long as the Prime Minister doesn’t resign.”