Repubblika’s lawyer, Jason Azzopardi, wrote that these offences are qualified as continuous offenses because the acts committed breach the same legal provisions and were carried out with a single resolution.

This comes after the Times of Malta revealed that Muscat is suspected to have received a €50,000 kickback related to a Malta Tourism Authority contract. A private company linked to an MTA contractor paid her the sum over the course of six months.

The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU)- Malta’s anti-money laundering agency – flagged the transactions to the police after it investigated Muscat’s work for a company associated with Italian cyclist Valerio Agnoli last year. Agnoli was hired by the MTA to promote cycling tourism. An annual agreement of €20,000 was formalised with the cyclist in 2023.

Muscat began working with the Agnoli-linked firm 18 months after losing her lucrative ministry consultant job which was investigated by the Standards Commissioner and found to be the result of an abuse of power. Bartolo and Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri were implicated in this report.

Muscat’s assignment with Agnoli ended in December.

Bartolo resigned hours before this news was revealed and days after he was sent questions by the investigating newsroom. According to Prime Minister Robert Abela, this information surfaced recently however Jason Azzopardi alleged that Abela has known of these crimes since before September and only acted now because the Times of Malta came to know.

Do you think these individuals should be charged with the aforementioned crimes?