PN Welcomes NAO Investigation Into Alleged Mismanagement At Identità
Malta’s National Audit Office (NAO) has officially opened an investigation into allegations that thousands of foreign nationals may have been issued residence permits and ID cards without proper checks.
The probe comes months after lawyer and former PN MP Jason Azzopardi claimed that up to 18,000 ID cards had been issued on the basis of forged documents — a scandal that sparked a magisterial inquiry and mounting political pressure for accountability.
In response, Opposition MPs Darren Carabott, Graham Bencini and Claudette Buttigieg filed a request in August 2024 for the Auditor General to investigate whether Identità, Jobsplus and the Ministry for Home Affairs followed due diligence and proper governance procedures when processing residence and work permits.
That request has now been accepted.
Carabott, who chairs Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, confirmed on Tuesday that the Auditor General had agreed to launch a formal probe into what the PN described as “the false identity cards and residence permits scandal.”
The Opposition said it welcomed the decision and would be closely monitoring the outcome of the investigation, calling for “the full truth” to emerge.
According to the PN, the probe should determine not just whether rules were broken, but whether the state carried out studies to understand the economic and national impact of large-scale residence and work permit approvals.