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WATCH: ‘Tell Us Exactly When And Where You Met with Yorgen Fenech’, Simon Busuttil Asks Prime Minister in Parliamentary Battle Cry

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MP Simon Busuttil called on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to reveal precisely when and where he last met Yorgen Fenech, in a parliamentary battle cry where he laid bare Chief of Staff Keith Schembri’s untenable position following a sensational libel withdrawal.

Fenech is the owner of the infamous 17 Black, one of two companies set to funnel millions from Keith Schembri and Minister Konrad Mizzi’s offshore Panamanian companies/

Busuttil was referencing Muscat’s nondescript comments to The Times of Malta over his correspondence with Fenech.

“A year ago, I think. I’m not certain. Two years? This is what, November, right? I think it was a year ago then, just as I meet with people in all business sectors,” Muscat had said.

Busuttil slammed Muscat, insisting that he was only confused because he was lying.

“Tell us exactly where and when you met with Yorgen Fenech,” he said.

Meanwhile, Busuttil also took Muscat to task on his evasive attitude when it came to answering questions about Macbridge; the company included with 17 Black for draft business plans with Schembri and Konrad Mizzi’s Panamanian companies.

“I don’t know, ask the owner or whoever has that information… but I don’t have [the information],”  Muscat had said.

“The Prime Minister is lying, he knows exactly who it belongs to, all he had to do was ask his Chief of Staff,” Busuttil explained.

The brunt of the speech was focused on Schembri after he refused to answer any questions on 17 Black and alleged kickbacks, ultimately dropping a libel suit Schembri himself had instigated to prove his innocence.

“Any person on the street can go to the Prime Minister’s chief of staff and tell him that he’s corrupt and he cannot do anything. You can even go to the Prime Minister and tell him that he’s corrupt because he’s kept his chief of staff there, and he cannot do anything,” Busuttil told parliament this evening.

The libel suit concerned an anti-corruption protest in 2016 where Busuttil derided Schembri for being corrupt in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal.

Schembri was set to testify yesterday, with the cross-examination expected to focus on the infamous 17 Black.

However, after a Magistrate shot down several attempts to stop Schembri testifying, the Prime Minster’s chief of staff decided to withdraw the libel suit.

“If Schembri said he was scared of incriminating himself, then clearly there is something criminal there.”

“Schembri was a step away from getting sentenced to prison for his failure to testify.”

“He had a choice whether to go to prison or answer. What happened yesterday was unprecedented, and instead he decided to withdraw his case and admit that the claims were nothing but the truth,” Busuttil said.

Busuttil went on to even detail Schembri’s show of force in the courts, entering with an endless line of security officers and lawyers.

The former PN leader then went on to express his utter disbelief at the current political situation, something he said was pervasive on both sides on the political divide.

“They have betrayed the trust of the people. Schembri and Mizzi were ready to make money off Yorgen Fenech’s power station, the stench of the corruption is there for everyone to smell,” he said.

Turning onto Muscat specifically, he referenced the tears he shed when the Egrant inquiry’s conclusions were published.

“How much more tears he should be shedding with what Schembri and Mizzi are doing?”

“He has done nothing in three years. Muscat is either responsible or complicit in their crimes,” Busuttil continued.

Referencing Daphne Caruana Galizia’s last article throughout (which specifically dealt with the libel case and Schembri), Busuttil closed by saying her fight for truth will continue, despite her assassination.

READ NEXT: The 11 Games Keith Schembri Played To Avoid Facing Uncomfortable Questions

Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.

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