Cover photo: Left (The LOL Post); Right: Joseph Muscat

This weekend’s Carnival festivities in Nadur threw up a range of wacky and innovative floats and costumes, but there was one display which particularly stood out.

A group of revellers created a mock rendition of Pilatus Bank as a money laundering machine, complete with washing machines, warning signs, and stickers of Kasco – the business owned by the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri.

To top it off, the revellers donned orange jumpsuits and masks in a clear allusion to the popular robbery TV show La Casa Del Papel (Money Heist). And whether it was intentional or just a lucky coincidence, this had a double meaning – as Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had named La Casa Del Papel as his favourite TV show of 2018.

As expected, the photo went viral on social media, with PN MEP Roberta Metsola even weighing in on its significance.

“Visiting the last preparations before everyone descends on Nadur for tonight’s carnival in Gozo,” she tweeted. “Of course, disgraced Pilatus Bank will make an appearance…washing machines and all. #Tragicomic.”

The Ta’ Xbiex based bank was infamously at the centre of claims by now-murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia that the Prime Minister’s wife owns the Panama company Egrant. Although these claims were contradicted by a magisterial inquiry, the bank ended up losing its license anyway after its owner Ali Sadr Hasheminejad was arrested in the United States, on charges of laundering money and breaching US sanctions on Iran.

Did you attend the Nadur Carnival festivities this year?

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]