Michelle Muscat has expressed relief at the Egrant inquiry conclusions while saying that the 15-month saga has scarred her and her family for life.

In a statement issued on Tuesday (attached below), the Prime Minister’s wife described the claims the inquiry centred on – that she was the ultimate beneficial owner of Panama company Egrant Inc. – as a “deceitful conspiracy” and hinted that the family were seriously considering legal action in their capacity as private citizens.

“I do hope nobody will object to us doing so according to the rule of law,” Mrs Muscat said. “This will give us nothing back, but there is not one parent I know who would not do so if their family had gone through what we did.”

The Prime Minister’s wife said that she found the experience of testifying in court “alone, without any assistance” traumatic and said that despite the inquiry conclusions having cleared her, “the pain will not just go away.”

Those who stand for the protection of children shied away from pronouncing themselves on the way our daughters were being smeared
“The scar that this deceitful conspiracy left on me personally, and on us as a family, has marked us for life. It is the basis for many decisions we have taken over the past 15 months, and those in the months to come.”

She endorsed “every word” that her husband, Joseph Muscat, had said during a press conference on Sunday morning, and said she would have liked to have been there but was overseas “on activities related to my voluntary work”.

She said the saga had affected the family on a personal level, and expressed a mother’s pain at having to reassure the couple’s two young children.

“Just imagine sitting down, as parents, with your 10-year-old daughters, explaining that what they were reading, watching, and hearing was simply not true. Fielding questions on what happens if we are taken to prison. Asking what exactly is an “istitut” since they read that someone suggested that they, our children, should be taken from us,” she said.

“We had to discuss how to deal with television crews and photographers who were hounding us everywhere, and how to react in a dignified manner at school and elsewhere, when necessary.”

Michelle Muscat: "They have been conned".Michelle Muscat: "They have been conned".

Mrs Muscat thanked everyone who had trusted her and her husband from the outset, and said that she also understood those who initially believed the claims – “given that the story was too good not to be true” – but who now realised “they have been conned”.

She was less forgiving of unnamed “institutions who should know better”.

“Those who stand for the protection of children shied away from pronouncing themselves on the way our daughters were being smeared. Those who usually have a lot to say about everything, never had a word to say to us, neither in private let alone in public, neither before nor after,” she said, adding “Not that we expected any better.”

She said she would now dedicate more time to the Marigold Foundation, would “remain positive” and looked forward to spending more time with her family and preparing her daughters for senior school.

Attached files

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