Undercover footage showing a passport seller boast of his ministerial connections and how authorities ‘close an eye’ to clients with a criminal record was  “a gross misinterpretation”, the law firm has told Lovin Malta.

“The footage aired on the French TV Station amounted to a gross misinterpretation, misrepresentation and incorrect translation of our representative’s words.  The firm categorically refutes the allegation in its entirety,” the firm said.

The firm, who have lost their license to operate in citizenship sale programme, said that they look forward to “the successful completion of Malta Individual Investor Programme Agency’s review”.

In a feature that focused on the Individual Investor Programme (IIP), lawyers of Chetcuti Cauchi are shown meeting who they thought were legal representatives of African clients who were interested in purchasing Maltese citizenship.

“Julia Farrugia, the parliamentary secretary in charge of the programme, is a childhood friend of my wife. It’s good to have a wife with similar friends,” a representative is heard saying.

At another point, he speaks of his own personal relationship with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in their school days.

The conversation then took a turn, with the lawyers claim authorities can close an eye to clients with a criminal record,

“Later, I can give them new information that would benefit the client,” the person said.

Both Muscat and Farrugia Portelli have denied the claims, insisting that their relationship did not extend beyond the primary school bus. However, photos show that the pair met with the Managing Director of the firm a number of times over the past few years.

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