“The bank took action and found this room was being used by her husband and children. When they confronted her, she decided to rebut by claiming the bank hadn’t paid her due wages.”

Giglio said he was in possession of “substantial evidence”, including SMSes sent by Efimova herself, that her claims against the bank were baseless and that she had indeed defrauded it.

He also dismissed Efimova’s claims that she was mistreated by police officers Denis Theuma, Lara Butters and Jonathan Ferris on the grounds that “he knows these people”.

When in 2017 Efimova claimed she was in possession of documents linking Egrant to Muscat, Giglio harboured reservations over her credibility but didn’t rule out that she could be telling the truth.

“I had known she was a malevolent woman who was capable of getting herself into certain situations and I had said back then that if the documents did exist, then no one would be able to see them but her.”

“Backed as I was by crystal clear evidence that her claims that the bank hadn’t paid her were inaccurate I had known Efimova as a person who can manipulate facts. However, I had hoped that perhaps she was telling the truth on the [Egrant] issue.”

In 2018, a magisterial inquiry found no evidence linking Egrant to Muscat or his family, contradictions in Efimova’s and Caruana Galizia’s testimonies, and falsified signatures in alleged declarations of trust that were handed to him by then Malta Independent editor-in-chief Pierre Portelli. 

In 2020, police charged Efimova, as well as former police inspector Jonathan Ferris, with perjury. However, Efimova has since left Malta and attempts by the police to bring her back through a European Arrest Warrant have proven unfruitful, prompting magistrate Marseanne Farrugia to postpone the case against her indefinitely.

Muscat is also demanding she testify as part of a libel case he had instituted against Caruana Galizia in 2017 over the Egrant story and which remains open despite her assassination.

Although the former Prime Minister had previously insisted she testify in person, he recently walked back his demands and said he is fine with her testifying virtually so long as it is done under proper court control. 

Giglio dismissed Efimova’s suggestions that she doesn’t want to return to Malta out of concern for her safety but said she should be allowed to testify virtually in Muscat’s libel case.

Once I was at home on the sofa, watching a TV program where Robert Abela (not PM yet) was speaking and he made a comment that “it’s interesting that in this coming election, Giglio isn’t a candidate… who knows why?”

He said he dropped Pilatus Bank as a client after he heard Prime Minister Robert Abela (back then a PL candidate) bring his name up on a TV show in the run-up to the 2017 election.

“Abela said that it’s interesting that Joe Giglio wasn’t a PN candidate in this election and that he wonders why that was,” he recounted.

“I questioned why he was using me and my case to damage the PN when I wasn’t even in politics at the time. The next day, I called up the Pilatus directors and told them that we were being used to conduct propaganda against the PN, that I felt uncomfortable and that they should better speak to another lawyer. They understood my position and that’s what happened.”

In the interview, Giglio also downplayed the relevance of the NGO Repubblika to Malta’s political scene.

Asked whether he agrees with Repubblika that Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg should resign, Giglio responded that “irrespective of what Repubblika thinks, I think the PN represents a larger section of the population”.

“Let’s discuss the party instead of particular NGOs,” he said.

When Azzopardi argued that Repubblika’s mindset is close to the PN’s, Giglio retorted that just because both party and NGO embrace good governance issues, it doesn’t mean they are one and the same.

“It would be a mistake to think that is the case and to assimilate a party and a NGO… a party is always greater than a NGO. Let’s not waste so much time talking about NGOs and Repubblika. I don’t have a problem with them but with those who try to assimilate the PN with a NGO, no matter which one.”

As for calls for Buttigieg and police commissioner Angelo Gafa’ to resign, Giglio responded that he hopes both high-ranking officials do their duty.

What do you make of Joe Giglio’s comments?