Justice and Culture Minister Owen Bonnici would not comment on the latest reports that cast another shadow on Cabinet colleague Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri.
Declining to express his views, Dr Bonnici insisted he would stick to the statements made by the Labour Party. When asked to elaborate or give his personal opinion he cut the interview short and left.
He was approached at the end of a media event held at St Vincent de Paul Residence yesterday.
The controversy surrounding Dr Mizzi’s and Mr Schembri’s secret companies, which had only come to light at the height of the Panama Papers scandal in 2015, was reignited following revelations by the Daphne Project.
It was reported earlier this week that, in 2015, $1.6 million were transferred to a Dubai-based firm by the name of 17 Black, which was expected to make payments to the Panama companies owned by Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri.
When they issue a statement I subscribe completely to what they say
The Daphne Project published a copy of an e-mail, obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, in which the two men’s financial advisers, Nexia BT, said the money would be paid through accounts they had tried to open in the Bahamas.
It emerged from a leaked report, that the government’s anti-money laundering agency had raised the alarm, concluding there was reasonable suspicion of money laundering and enough evidence to launch criminal proceedings.
No such action was taken, prompting Nationalist MEP David Casa to request an inquiring magistrate to look into the contents of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit’s report that had been leaked to him.
Both Dr Mizzi and Mr Schembri denied any wrongdoing.
Dr Bonnici was yesterday asked whether he was comfortable working alongside two senior government figures at the heart of such claims.
He insisted throughout that the Labour Party had already pronounced itself on the matter and, therefore, he would stick to what was said in those statements.
He repeated the same reply when asked why he was refusing to give his personal views on such serious matters that had given rise to concern within the Labour camp.
“I am a member of the Labour Party, the government, and when they issue a statement I subscribe completely to what they say,” he remarked.
Dr Bonnici would neither pronounce himself when invited to outline the contents of the party statements or his position in the wake of reports that the Daphne Project reports fuelled disgruntlement within Labour camp.
“These statements are public and I stick with them,” the minister said before leaving abruptly.