Activists call for reopening of Egrant inquiry
On Tuesday evening, #occupyjustice staged a protest outside Castille to draw attention that, in spite of the revelations made in the Egrant Inquiry, “there hasn’t been so much as a peep of action from the Floriana Police Depot or the Attorney General’s office”.
Egrant is the name of one of three companies which were opened in Panama. Two of them were acquired by former Minister, Konrad Mizzi, and former OPM Chief of Staff, Keith Schembri. The Egrant Inquiry had established that no evidence existed that Egrant belonged to former Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, or his wife, Michelle.
“Whilst they’re dragging their feet and coming up with excuses to justify their inaction, making sure that justice is delayed, criminals roam free and are gifted years of a head-start to cover their tracks”, the pressure group said in a statement. “It seems that our institutions are spinelessly hell bent in protecting fraudsters and corrupt individuals, instead of investigating them.”
“Might we remind Finance
Minister, Clyde Caruana, that, on 1 November 2019, he pledged to make available all necessary resources should there be ‘a request’ to reopen the Egrant Inquiry”, the group said. “That request was made, by Magistrate Ian Farrugia who called for it to be reopened. The
Attorney General was legally obliged to comply with Magistrate Farrugia’s order. Instead, this was ignored – not that we’ve come to expect better from this office”, the activists said.
“Well, here we are, making the request again. We’re also demanding that, this time round, the terms for the Inquiry are not drafted by the prime suspect in the case. It is laughable that this happened in the first place.”
The contempt with which the government has treated the Maltese people for these past ten years is unprecedented, in using its privilege and power to shield those who should have faced justice years ago, the pressure group said. “All this makes us wonder as to who is really pulling the strings”, the group said.
“The reopening of the Egrant Inquiry is long overdue. You should be beyond ashamed of yourselves for ignoring this. History will not be kind to you for betraying those you were duty bound to serve and protect. Take action or resign.”