Nationalist MP and former finance minister Tonio Fenech has denied that in his parliamentary declaration of assets he included a list of companies without outlining their function. 

"The declaration I submitted was according to the criteria set by parliament and the code of ethics of MPs. The information on my professional activity was issued by myself because I have nothing to hide," Mr Fenech said.

Mr Fenech was reacting to comments made by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday.

He said the companies cited were registered in Malta and he became a director when he was no longer minister - in contrast to the cases of Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, who set up companies five days after taking their government posts.

Mr Fenech explained that he works in the financial services industry and the service he offers is to be an independent member on company boards. This was a service offered by the country as a financial services jurisdiction.

None of the mentioned companies were owned by him personally and he only served as an independent board member, without executive roles.

Mr Fenech said it was a lie for Joseph Muscat to have declared that he was secretary of a company whose business was to set up trusts overseas.

The company where he served as secretary was registered in Malta and did not set up trusts overseas. Even if this was true, this was a service which Malta offered as part of its financial services industry and if Dr Muscat considered this as wrong, then the government was throwing the financial services sector overboard and endangering thousands of jobs. 

Mr Fenech also insisted that no company in which he was involved provided services to the government or conflicted with his parliamentary duties. The companies did not operate in con-cooperative jurisdiction.

Wherever the beneficial owner of a company in which he was involved was based abroad, he had followed the rules of the Financial Intelligence Analysis  Unit (FIAU) and he was prepared to declare that such owners were serious non political people not involved in money laundering or other illegal activity.

He had also ensured that the companies he was involved in were legitimate.

Whenever he was required to declare that he was a politically exposed person, he had done so, in Malta and abroad. 

He had not given services to offshore companies and all companies he was involved in were registered in Malta with the MFSA. The companies had also paid their due taxes.

Mr Fenech said it was also a lie that after his term as minister ended, he had formed a company with a former CEO of Bank of Valletta and that he was involved in a company with another person who was responsible for the setting up of trusts at the bank.

"Dr Muscat's attack on me yesterday was because he was with his back to the wall over the Panama Papers and was prepared to dump the financial services sector in order to get out of his problem."

He appealed to the prime minister to stop harming the country further.

 

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