Prime Minister Robert Abela and his government have not learned any lessons from Malta’s greylisting, PN leader Bernard Grech has warned, pointing to inaction against key Cabinet member, namely Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis.

“Every day Zammit Lewis stays on is a day lost in Malta’s fight to return back to the white list,” Grech said in an interview on Net FM. 

Zammit Lewis is currently under fire following the reveal of a series of messages with Yorgen Fenech in 2019, when he was already known to be the owner of 17 Black, the Dubai-based company linked to alleged government corruption. 

Grech dismissed Zammit Lewis’ apology, which was issued more than a week after the initial revelations, insisting that the Justice Minister was trying to play the victim in the scandal. 

He also raised concerns that Zammit Lewis, as Justice Minister, will be responsible for introducing the recommendations outlined in the report of the public inquiry linked to the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

The decision to keep Zammit Lewis on board will have negative effects on Malta’s attempts to leave the FATF grey list. 

Grech made reference to a recent Team Start demonstration outside of Parliament, criticising government MPs for backing a parliamentary recess this summer.

“How does the Prime Minister expect to get off the grey list in three months as he said?” Grech asked.