Arraignments in connection with a racket involving Identity Malta staff and other individuals over alleged fraudulent residence permits are expected shortly, the Times of Malta has learnt.

Three Identity Malta employees arrested last week were suspended Monday on full pay, sources close to the Attorney General’s office said yesterday.

Decisions on what charges would be pressed were expected in the coming days, they added..

A spokesman for Identity Malta confirmed that a number of its employees had been suspended from work and receiving their full pay until the ongoing investigations were over.

The spokesman would not say how many were suspended and what position they occupied.

This newspaper is informed that the three individuals are low-level staff members and were recruited from outside the public service soon after the 2013 change of government.

A spokesman for the Home Affairs Ministry said that the government was allowing the police and security service to serenely conduct their investigation.

Investigations into the alleged racket at Identity Malta came to light following the arraignment of accountant and former Labour treasurer Joe Sammut. He was charged with registering hundreds of false trading companies to obtain residence permits for Libyans.

The government says such practice has been ongoing for at least the last five years.

Statistics show that since Labour came to power, the number of residence permits issued by Identity Malta more than doubled, reaching 14,000 in 2014.