Security Services Official Was On Holiday With Iosif Galea And Joseph Muscat, Jason Azzopardi Claims
A police sergeant who is currently detailed to the Malta Security Services was part of a group, which also included former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and arrested gaming consultant Iosif Galea, that recently went on holiday to Italy, former PN MP Jason Azzopardi has claimed.
“The sergeant (A.V.) is detailed in the accounts section of the MSS and her husband is a former police officer who is currently a security officer detailed to the US Embassy,” Azzopardi, a criminal lawyer, said today.
“The sergeant is very good friends with the Muscats. I do not intend to write about this but one would believe that she should have known that a European Arrest Warrant against Galea had been pending for seven months and that he had been travelling in and out of Malta. Did she inform her superiors at the MSS?”
According to an Italian media report which didn’t mention Galea by name, Galea was arrested at Brindisi Airport on 14th-15th May by the Italian police on the back of a European Arrest Warrant issued by Germany with regards to a tax evasion case.
However, his arrest was only announced in Malta by Times of Malta on 28th May.
A day earlier, Times of Malta had published a story that the Maltese authorities had issued a European Arrest Warrant against Galea in connection with an alleged racket at the Malta Gaming Authority.
Then, on 29th May, the same newspaper reported that Muscat had been part of the group holiday, with the former Prime Minister stating that he had no connection with the case and that he had no personal or professional relationship with Galea.
“Mr Galea has for the past few months been the boyfriend of a long-time friend who was in the group,” Muscat said. “We were travelling with a larger group of friends and acquaintances for a short holiday. A few hours after our arrival we were informed that Mr Galea was being detained. The rest of the group continued with our holiday and returned to Malta a few days later as planned.”
Retired judge Franco Depasquale is heading the inquiry (Photo: TVM)
The police complaints board, which is headed by retired judge Franco Depasquale, has been tasked by the Home Affairs Ministry with investigating the case.
However, the Malta Police Union and the NGO Repubblika have called for a fully-fledged independent inquiry.
Azzopardi backed these calls, warning that the police complaints board won’t be empowered to investigate the behaviour of the MSS official, establish whether there were any responsibilities beyond the police force, and publish the final report.
“They say that sunlight is the best disinfectant. The more you publish, the better and the more you hide, the more damage you cause,” he said.
Moreover, he warned that one of the members of the board – former police commissioner Michael Cassar – had helped investigate Galea in 2012 as part of an investigation into an alleged bribery attempt involving former European Commissioner John Dalli.
“If we agree that justice must be done and be seen to be done, how right is it for one of the original investigators to be on the board?” he questioned.
“This isn’t criticism towards Mr Cassar, who I greatly admire and respect and whose integrity I never doubted. However, why did the government sweep this case in front of a board whose integrity and independence will one day be attacked in court for breaching a principle of natural justice?”
Cover photo: From left: Iosif Galea, Jason Azzopardi, Joseph Muscat
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