Minister Konrad Mizzi today invited a lawyer to address the Prime Minister any questions he had about the audit being carried out on his Panama company and New Zealand trust.

Testifying during a libel case he instituted against Nationalist deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami, Dr Mizzi refused to say which company was carrying out the audit on his financial affairs when questioned by lawyer Joe Zammit Maempel.

“Those questions should be addressed to the Prime Minister, you can speak to the Prime Minister about it,” Dr Mizzi said.

The audit had to take place in serenity, without any undue pressure from sources.

Dr Zammit Maempel reassured the court he would not be applying any such pressure. Dr Fenech Adami’s lawyer said he simply wanted the name of the company to verify whether the audit was taking place.

Asked if he had registered the New Zealand trust in Malta, Dr Mizzi said everything had been registered.

Dr Mizzi said he had listed his Panama company and New Zealand trust in his declaration of assets which were presented to Parliament.

Questioned if he had been fined for not registering the trust with the Maltese tax authorities as required by law, Dr Mizzi said he was informed “much later” that the trust had to be registered.

He said he did not go into the issue of registering the trust with his financial advisers Nexia BT.

Dr Mizzi said the form for registering the trust was not even available online, and only two trusts had ever been registered.

Questioned why he chose to register his company in Panama, Dr Mizzi argued that his trust was registered in New Zealand.

He said New Zealand was a signatory to the OECD and shared information with the tax authorities when requested.