Two companies named as Egrant shareholders in transcripts of two alleged declaration of trusts published by blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia ceased to have an interest in the company in July 2013, Nexia BT managing partner Brian Tonna has said. 

In a statement, Mr Tonna said Egrant was incorporated on 4 July 2013 and that Dubro Ltd. and Aliator S.A. were its original subscribers.

However, the two companies "ceased to be shareholders in the corporation" just five days later, Mr Tonna said, when on 9 July 2013 one Egrant share was issued in favour of ATC Administrators Inc. 

His statement did not explain how the two companies ceased to be Egrant shareholders as a result of one share being issued to ATC Administrators Inc. 

Earlier today, Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil had noted that both Dubro and Aliator were named as Egrant shareholders on Panama's register of companies.

Ms Caruana Galizia has alleged that documents held by Pilatus Bank reveal that Egrant shares are held by the two companies on behalf of the Prime Minister's wife, Michelle Muscat. Both Mrs Muscat and the bank have denied the claims. 

Mr Tonna conceded that both Aliator and Dubro Ltd. still appeared on the public register, but argued that this was a quirk of Panamanian law. 

"Under Panamanian law, changes in shareholding are not publicly recorded, and so the public register continues to show only the original subscribers," he said. "Changes in shareholdings are only recorded in the corporation’s internal register, and they are evidenced by share certificates issued to shareholders." 

Mr Tonna said that he acquired beneficial ownership of Egrant two months later, on 9 August 2013, with ATC Administrators holding onto its single share on a fiduciary basis on his behalf. 

No further shares were transferred and there was no change in ownership from that date forward, Mr Tonna said, until Egrant was dissolved earlier this year, with the dissolution process having started on January 19. 

"No other properly signed, authentic documentation exists or ever existed...the corporation never traded, never received payment and never had a bank account," Mr Tonna said, adding that "it follows that no documentation as is being alleged could have been presented to Pilatus Bank or indeed any other bank." 

Mr Tonna attached PDF copies of

• a declaration of trust - which "bears the registered address of the corporation in Panama", he noted  
• minutes of a 9 July 2013 meeting 
• a share certificate to the benefit of ATC Administrators dated 9 July 2013 
• a power of attorney given to Mossack Fonseca by Brian Tonna to dissolve Egrant 

Copies of all four PDF documents can be seen below.