Local advisory firm Reanda Malta has denied taking on the majority of Nexia BT’s clients, despite managing director Brian Tonna’s announcement that it will. 

Tonna had told the Times of Malta that Nexia BT would no longer offer advisory, accounting and audit services, and that rival firm Reanda Malta would take over several areas of the company.

However, the company has outright denied this.

“Reanda Malta Limited has not received business from Messrs Nexia BT and will not be receiving any such business. Consequently, there is no ‘hive off’ and/or transfer of any business taking place,” it said.

Nexia BT managing directors Karl Cini and Brian Tonna were arrested Tuesday in connection to money-laundering allegations related to former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri.

Reanda Malta is owned by Robert Borg, who sat on the evaluation board which awarded the dubious hospital concession to Vitals Global Healthcare.

Keith Schembri, who was released on police bail last night, is alleged to have gained illicit profits through the government’s citizenship-buying scheme called IIP.

A leaked report by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit found that Schembri received two payments of €50,000 from Brian Tonna through the now-closed Pilatus Bank. It is alleged that the money came from passports sold to three Russian nationals.

Both have denied this, with Schembri saying it was a repayment of a loan to Tonna during his separation, but the FIAU said it could find no evidence of such a loan to begin with.

Assets have been frozen by court order of Schembri, Cini, Tonna and over 100 companies over the financial crime on Monday.

MEP David Casa has questioned why Tonna and Cini have retained their accounting warrants and why Malta’s accounting board has failed to act despite the ongoing revelations.

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