Is it not ironic that Finance Minister Edward Scicluna should be vying for a post within the Labour Party that is similar to the one vacated by Konrad Mizzi when he was embroiled in the Panama Papers leak?

Is it not ironic that the same Finance Minister should publicly wonder whether Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit reports had been written to be leaked and, three days later, two top FIAU officials are sacked?

Is it not ironic that, rather than do what is expected of him as a Finance Minister – that is, see to it that the country’s fiscal and financial reputation is not brought into disrepute – Prof. Scicluna seems more bent in being his master’s voice?

Surely, Prof. Scicluna, a former chairman of the Malta Financial Services Centre and a very respected academic, must have read at least the leaked reports of the FIAU, the government’s own anti-money laundering agency that falls under his political umbrella. And, surely, what he saw must have been disquieting, whether it was meant to be leaked or not.

If he thought the conclusions reached and the comments made by the FIAU investigators were trumped up and ill-founded, if not an outright fabrication, as some might want us to believe, then he should have made a clean sweep at the FIAU, not just on the ‘shop floor’ but also at ‘boardroom’ level.

Still, beyond the rhetoric, nothing of the sort has happened, apart, that is, from small fry being grilled at the altar of political sacrifice.In the circumstances, it would be opportune to remind Prof. Scicluna of just two conclusions reached by the FIAU.

One report refers to “two specific suspicious transactions of €50,000 each” consisting of bank transfers carried out through the domestic bank account pertaining to Willerby Trade Inc, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands [whose beneficial owner is Brian Tonna], in favour of a domestic bank account held in the name of Mr Keith Allen Schembri, a person who falls within the definition of a ‘politically exposed person’ under the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations in view of his appointment as chief of staff to the Prime Minister as of March 11, 2013.

The FIAU concluded that theinformation available to it “is deemed to be sufficient to conclude that areasonable suspicion of money laundering and/or the existence of proceeds of crime subsists” and recommended that this report be transmitted to the police “for any action the police may consider appropriate”.

It had also conducted a financial analysis in relation to Allied Newspapers’ former managing director Adrian Hillman, who received funds from Mr Schembri and found that they “never originated from Mr Schembri’s personal domestic accounts but, rather, from various domestic business accounts or offshore accounts held in jurisdictions which are known for strict secrecy laws”.

Here, too, the FIAU had “a reasonable suspicion of money laundering and/or the existence of proceeds of crime” and, again, recommended the report be transmitted to the police.

The above points are just a ‘taster’ of what the reports contain. The least honest citizens who declare their income and pay taxes expect Prof. Scicluna to do, before projecting himself as the Prime Minister ‘obvious’ choice for deputy leader, is to scrupulously fulfil his duties as Finance Minister.