The curtain has been drawn on five libel suits filed by Minister Konrad Mizzi over allegations he faced stemming from the Panama Papers, after a Magistrates’ Court formally declared on Thursday that the cases had been ceded.
Two of the suits had been filed against slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who had claimed in a blog post that a company owned by one of the two daughters of Azerbaijan ruler Ilham Aliyev, had transferred very large sums of money, described as “loan payments”, to secret companies Hearnville Inc, Tillgate Inc and Egrant Inc.
The transfers had allegedly been made by Al Sahra FZCO, a company owned by Leyla Aliyeva incorporated in Dubai's free zone, with Ms Aliyeva as the ultimate beneficial owner, the blog post had claimed.
The payments were made through Al Sahra FZCO’s account at Pilatus Bank, Ms Caruana Galizia had alleged.
Another two suits had been filed against former Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, with another being filed against ex-PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami.
However, in a statement last month, the minister had said that he had decided to withdraw the suits after the courts had ruled against Dr Busuttil and MEP David Casa in January, finding that there were no grounds to launch an inquiry related to Panama Papers revelations.
“While some defendants might rejoice to know they would not have to shoulder a monetary cost for their lies, it should also be clear to them that they had already lost their political credibility,” the minister had declared in a statement issued through the Department of Information.
Although the cases featured on Thursday’s case list, the court, presided over by magistrate Francesco Depasquale, declared that the applicant had withdrawn the lawsuits, thus bringing the matter to its formal end.
Dr Mizzi’s withdrew the suits days before Nexia BT partner Karl Cini was due to testify about emails relating to mystery Dubai company 17 Black.
An email sent by Mr Cini indicated the company as one of the target clients of Dr Mizzi’s own secret Panama company, which he set up when he was Energy Minister.
The email informed Mossack Fonseca in Panama that 17 Black would pay up to $2 million to offshore companies owned by the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri and Dr Mizzi.
A joint investigation by Times of Malta and Reuters revealed that 17 Black is owned by Electrogas power station director Yorgen Fenech.
Dr Mizzi has denied any links to the Dubai company, most recently when being cross-examined as part of the libel proceededings on January 10.