Magistrate Aaron Bugeja has accepted a request by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil to present evidence on alleged kickbacks involving the prime minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri.

"I will appear before the magistrate tomorrow morning at nine to present the evidence of the government's corruption," Dr Busuttil told supporters at a political conference in Gozo.

He said that the evidence, which he disclosed yesterday, had shocked him.

Dr Busuttil said yesterday that the case stemmed from corruption in the sale of Maltese passports, with three Russians having handed commissions to Nexia BT chief Brian Tonna who in turn handed €100,000 in kickbacks to Mr Schembri.

READ Schembri accused of passport sale kickbacks by Busuttil

Dr Busuttil said Mr Schembri could file as many libel cases as he wished, because he stood by his claims as they were backed by evidence.

Dr Busuttil also insisted that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat should immediately step down, not just over this case, but also about the way how it was reported that Egrant, a secret Panama company, was owned by his wife.

"Dr Muscat needs to go, and he should go now and not bring down the country with him," Dr Busuttil said. "His place is not in politics."

He recalled that in an interview in 2002, Dr Muscat was asked why he would not contest the elections.  

He replied that to enter politics one had to be a thief, a missionary, or mad.

"He is not a missionary, we assume he is not mad, so only one thing remains, he is a thief," Dr Busuttil said. 

Dr Busuttil also reiterated that Mr Schembri should be interrogated and taken to court to face charges of money laundering and corruption.

Dr Muscat too should be interrogated because it was difficult to believe he did not know what a person so close to him was doing, Dr Busuttil said. 

Referring to reports of a snap general election, Dr Busuttil said he would fight the election to win.

But this was the first time ever that Mata had a prime minister who wanted to win an election not to do good, but to avoid being interrogated and taken to court. 

In other points, Dr Busuttil promised that a PN government would launch an independent inquiry into reports that a person who revealed the names of drug traffickers changed his version after ministerial interference, and no one was arraigned. 

He also hit out at the privatisation of Gozo hospital, saying it should never have happened and it left Gozitans wondering whether they were being given the same service as fee-paying patients. A PN

A PN government would re-nationalise the Gozo hospital and also investigate the deal reached by the Labour government, Dr Busuttil said.

Concluding, he thanked people for coming forward with information and said the government was leaking 'from everywhere."

More scandals, more obscenities, would be revealed in the coming days, he said. 

LABOUR SAYS BUSUTTIL USING DISGUSTING LANGUAGE

In a reaction, the Labour Party said Dr Busuttil had sunk to new lows in his use of disgusting language, now going so far as saying the prime minister was a thief and wanting him in prison.

Dr Busuttil was showing himself to be impulsive under pressure and he wanted to imprison those who disagreed with him, on trumped-up stories about which he had no evidence.  

 

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