Sunday Times Of Malta Calls For Prime Minister To ‘Step Aside’
The Sunday Times of Malta has called for the resignation of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat following the allegations being made by blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia.
“As an EU Member State, the rule of law, transparency and good governance should be the norm. Under this government, those principles are under threat. Our institutions need to prove themselves all over again, and the only way faith in them can start to be restored is for a thorough, no-holds-barred investigation to be carried out, and to be seen to be carried out,” the newspaper’s editorial has said.
“However, with the Prime Minister still in office, these State institutions cannot function with the serenity they require because he is involved – directly or indirectly – in their appointments. Effectively, the police, on whose evidence the magisterial inquiry now under way depends, are investigating their own boss. The police fall under the executive branch of government, headed by the Prime Minister. This is nothing less than a constitutional crisis and should present to Muscat a crisis of conscience.”
“Given this situation, he really has no other option but to stand aside and appoint an acting Prime Minister until all the institutions conclude their investigations. He would then act accordingly,” the leading article concluded.
While the government is categorically denies all the allegations being made in its regard, the Nationalist Party will this afternoon lead a national demonstration against corruption in Valletta.
The Sunday Times of Malta has also reported today that serious failures in the prevention of money laundering were identified at the bank at the centre of the Egrant scandal.
The information was included in a 2016 report received by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).
“A two-week on-site inspection was carried out at the bank by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU), an independent anti-money-laundering agency, during the first quarter of last year. Serious customer due diligence failures, which are crucial in the prevention of money laundering, were flagged to the MFSA following the inspection. The inspection was spurred by concerns about the bank’s operations raised by MFSA officials before the Panama Papers were published in April by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists,” the newspaper reported.
Asked for copies of the due diligence and source of fund documents held by the MFSA, which gave Pilatus Bank a licence to operate in 2015, and whether any concerns about the bank had ever been raised, a spokesman for the authority said such information could not be made public.
READ NEXT: LIVE Updates From #DaphneLeaks As It Happens
