The board of directors of Allied Newspapers Limited said yesterday it “affirms its full confidence” in one of its members, Louis Farrugia, who was mentioned in the Panama Papers.

The board accepted Mr Farrugia’s explanation that he had declared his interest in a London property held through a Panamanian company to the Central Bank of Malta.

The company was dissolved in 2005, well before Mr Farrugia was appointed to the board in 2011. The board said it condemned “the malicious and completely unfounded allegations of double standards and false claims” made in the media on Sunday.

Mr Farrugia, chairman of the Farsons Group, is listed in the Panama Papers as an intermediary of Petrofina Holdings, which was active from 1984 to 2005 when it was dissolved.

Mr Farrugia said the firm had been declared to the Central Bank and was intended to house a UK property. He denied having any shares in overseas companies or any beneficial trust overseas.

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