Audits into the financial affairs of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri remain elusive six months after they were promised in a damage control exercise over the Panama Papers leaks.
The audits were promised by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat last March at the height of revelations that showed how Mr Schembri, his chief of staff, and the Minister Without Portfolio opened secret companies in Panama.
Dr Muscat had said the audits would be carried out by “a big international audit firm” that had no links to Malta.
Yet, six months later, little else is known about the audits and when they will be concluded.
“The audits are still ongoing and, as promised from the outset, the conclusions will be published,” a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister said.
The one-line response, similar to others received in the past, ignored other questions about the expected deadline and which company was carrying out the investigations.
Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri opened companies in Panama soon after the 2013 election and unsuccessfully tried to open bank accounts elsewhere. The accounts linked to the Panama companies had to receive money from worldwide commercial operations in online gaming and recycling.
The two men featured in the Panama Papers data leak of Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca, which was exposed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Dr Mizzi is the only serving EU minister to feature in the leak, a fact that came back to haunt Dr Muscat earlier this week when the European Parliament rejected Leo Brincat’s nomination for the European Court of Auditors.
Mr Brincat was burdened by his decision to support Dr Mizzi in a vote of no confidence in Parliament last April despite being critical of the Panama affair.
Dr Muscat has been criticised for failing to take concrete and timely action against Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri for opening companies in Panama.
Dr Mizzi’s health and energy portfolios were removed in a Cabinet reshuffle last April but he was retained as Cabinet minister within the Office of the Prime Minister, an action deemed by many to be a cosmetic change.
No action was taken against Mr Schembri.
An investigative committee of the European Parliament that will look into the Panama Papers is expected to summon Dr Mizzi for questioning.
What we don’t know
Ever since the Prime Minister said the financial affairs of Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri will be audited by a private firm, details have been scant.
A lot remains unknown, including which audit firm is carrying out the exercise and whether this is a run-of-the-mill audit or a forensic one.
The audit firm’s letter of engagement, spelling out the terms of reference, is also a mystery as is the expected deadline.
Who engaged the firm and who will foot the bill are also questions that have remained unanswered over the past six months.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com