Robert Arrigo claims blackmail

Nationalist backbencher Robert Arrigo claimed in Parliament yesterday that he was the victim of blackmail.

He declared he had confidence in the police who had certain facts and emails in their possession.

In a cryptic statement, he said that messengers had been sent to him delivering messages ask­ing him to do certain things. These messengers had been sent by the same person. However, he declared, he would never succumb to blackmail.

Mr Arrigo also revealed that he had passed on to the police an e-mail which said that a professional, not working for the government, had knowledge that a particular person was going to undergo a VAT investigation.

The MP also accused the media of being a vehicle for publishing information about persons involved in cases of blackmail. There were newspapers which had hidden agendas, he said, adding that jealousy had to be curtailed.

Mr Arrigo has been named by Malta Today in connection with an investigation into allegations of football bribery, reportedly made by Mr Arrigo’s former protégé and former Sliema mayor Nikki Dimech.

The police confirmed they were investigating the matter but would not confirm or deny whether Mr Arrigo was a target in this investigation. The Prime Minister has denied that the MP is under investigation.