Opposition leader Simon Busuttil today said there were clear links between bribes taken to issue medical visas to Libyans and the Office of the Prime Minister.
Speaking during a phone interview on Radio 101, Dr Busuttil said he had raised concerns about potential irregularities in the issuing of medical visas last year during a meeting of the security committee, yet the Prime Minister had not taken any action.
Mr Gafa denies the allegations.
Dr Busuttil said the case shows a clear link between criminality and power, as already seen in the Panama scandal.
He said the money passed on for these medical visas had not ended up in the government’s coffers, but in someone else’s pockets.
“Vulnerable people are being exploited, those with a genuine need for medical care are having money taken away from them,” Dr Busuttil said.
The Opposition leader questioned if the relevant security checks on these individuals had taken place.
He accused the government of throwing Malta’s security out of the window.
Dr Busuttil appealed to the Police Commissioner and Attorney General to act in the national interest by looking into the claims and taking action.
He said they should resign if they did not have the will or the ability to take action.
The Opposition said that the Prime Minister, his chief of staff Keith Schembri and former Health Minister Konrad Mizzi knew about this scandal.
He noted that it is always the same three people who were mentioned when such scandals surfaced.
Instead of fighting corruption, the government was covering it up and threatening those who uncovered the story.
In a statement this morning in response to a story in The Malta Independent on Sunday, the government denied that Dr Muscat had any prior knowledge of the allegations about the medical visas.