The Nationalist Party yesterday called on Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to take action against Gozo Channel chairman Joe Cordina following his admission that he instructed the company not to inform the police about an alleged theft of €4,000 by one of its employees.

In a statement yesterday, PN home affairs spokesman Jason Azzopardi insisted the case was a serious one which required the Prime Minister’s action.

The PN was reacting to a story reported in Times of Malta yesterday that Mr Cordina instructed his staff not to involve the police in the alleged theft. The police later issued criminal charges against a Gozo Channel employee. “The Maltese public now expects the Prime Minister to show seriousness and accountability over this case,” the PN said.

The Maltese public now expects the Prime Minister to show seriousness and accountability over this case

The disappearance of €4,000 in ticket sales last June was only reported to the police two weeks after it happened and only after the media got wind of what happened.

The decision not to involve the police was taken by the company’s government-appointed chairman who felt that once the missing money was found by one of its employees there was no need for a police investigation.

Mr Cordina admitted he had not wanted the police to get involved in the matter as he believed the employee in question, Joseph Portelli, did not really try to steal the money.

Asked to explain why the police were called in two weeks after the incident, Mr Cordina said that “since the media got to know about the story” he thought it would be better to ask the police to investigate.

The police last week confirmed it had issued charges against the Gozo Channel employee while the company also suspended Mr Portelli from work.

Mr Portelli told Times of Malta he did not steal the money but insisted he had found them and returned them to the company.

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