Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has shrugged off several questions in Parliament asking for a list of his chief of staff Keith Schembri’s business interests.
Mr Schembri’s business empire spans diverse interests in paper supply, engineering, recycling, grocery and confectionary supplies, interiors, industrial supply and the film industry.
The PN’s good governance spokesman Simon Busuttil initially asked Dr Muscat for a list of all local and foreign companies his chief of staff was involved in.
Dr Muscat refused this request, arguing that the information was “publicly available”.
Many of Mr Schembri’s foreign holdings have only become known thanks to leaks from the Panama Papers and the State’s anti-money laundering agency (FIAU).
A leaked FIAU report showed how Mr Schembri used once-secret companies in Gibraltar and the British Virgin Islands to move money around offshore.
The Panama Papers helped reveal his interest in a Cypriot company together with contractor Pierre Sladden and this paper’s former managing director Adrian Hillman.
The Panama Papers also revealed how Mr Schembri set up a “joint venture” with Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi through two Panama companies, with planned annual deposits of $1 million each.
According to leaked e-mails from the two men’s financial advisers Nexia BT, the companies were set to specialise in gaming and recycling.
Dr Busuttil asked Dr Muscat to list his aides’ business interests in the gaming and recycling sectors, but was once again told that the information was “public”.
Mr Schembri’s and Dr Mizzi’s holdings in their Panama companies were kept hidden from the public eye through the use of nominees.
The two New Zealand trusts used to shelter the Panama companies were not declared to the local tax authorities.
Dr Muscat did tell Parliament that Mr Schembri had no interests in the film sector. This information was later shown to be wrong as Mr Schembri is actually a shareholder in a film company, which he says has not traded since 2008.
Mr Schembri stepped down from the directorships of his various local companies but retained financial interests in them by virtue of his majority shareholding.
Dr Muscat has been forced to fend off accusations that Mr Schembri has personally benefitted from a number of government deals he was involved in.
Mr Schembri has shown to have personally benefitted from a $100 million investment deal struck with the American currency printers Crane.
The company was given a loan subsidised by taxpayers, which was used to buy machinery that is serviced by Mr Schembri’s local firm.
Mr Schembri recently denied links to a new business venture set up by his business partner Malcom Scerri. The venture stands to gain from a new government push towards plastic bottle recycling.
jacob.borg@timesofmalta.com