It’s incredible how scary the trajectory that our country has taken with the accession of Robert Abhela’s leadership of the Labour Party. For me, the moment of reckoning was in November 2019 when it was crystal clear that the country was run like a Mafia State. The shocking revelations were too damning for complacency and change was needed to save our democracy and rule of law. During that time we had learned that the Office of the Prime Minister was meddling in the investigations of the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia and that the police and the attorney-general were involved in the total cover-up of the murderers and the corrupt officials and politicians whom Daphne had investigated.
This story is well known and has been told many times over, but the fact that we need to tell it again is because more than three years after the biggest political crisis in our history where the highest level of government was involved in serious criminal conspiracies, no one from politics, the government or the police has been prosecuted.
In 2019 we could easily predict that Malta could descend into a permanent mafia state where rule of law is a thing of the past: this is why Chris Fearne was important to win the Labour leadership race. Instead, Robert Abela took over and the mafia was covered, but to cover up for the mafia, you also need to cripple and take over institutions, suppress opponents and do as much damage as possible to the press. Today, we are moving slowly ahead but steadily to authoritarianism, the police are arraigning a satirist charging him with charges which could lead to his imprisonment, while the Prime Minister is trying to impose new authoritarian laws on the press. It’s as if, ironically, Robert Abela has faded away all the gains in civil liberties during the Muscat era so as to create the authoritarian setting to cover up for him. Our civil liberties are the new easy come and easy go.
Meanwhile here is the list of alleged criminals who got away with it and what they got away with:
The Attorney-General, Peter Grech
Peter Grech refused to prosecute anyone and asked the police not to search the offices Nexia BT, the company owned by the accountant Brian Tonna who opened the companies in Panama for Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi and allegedly, Joseph Muscat himself. Peter Grech is nowadays a consultant to the government.
The Deputy Attorney-General. Victoria Buttiġieġ
Victoria Buttiġieġ was Peter Grech’s deputy and she is now the attorney-general.
The Police Commissioner, Lawrence Cutajar
He covered up for Yorgen Fenech, Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi and basically everyone while he leaked information to Melvin Theuma, the middleman of Daphne’s murder on police investigations about Melvin Theuma himself, all the while meeting known criminal, Edward Brincat “Il-Ġojja” to discuss details about the murder investigation.
The Deputy Police Commissioner, Silvio Valletta
Silvio Valletta was deputy to Lawrence Cutajar and traveled with Yorgen Fenech while supposedly investigating Yorgen Fenech himself, covered up for him, and leaked him details of the investigation. Silvio Valletta was also the husband of Labour and disgraced Minister Justyne Caruana.
The Police Head of the Financial Crimes Unit, Ian Abdilla
Police inspector Ian Abdilla suppressed FIAU reports about suspected money laundering by Keith Schembri, covered up for Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi, covered up for Yorgen Fenech, and leaked sensitive information to Keith Schembri. Today, Ian Abdilla works as a tour guide at Heritage Malta.
Member of Parliament and disgraced Minister Rosianne Cutajar
Rosiajnne Cutajar took bribes from Yorgen Fenech, had an intimate relationship with him, and defended him in parliament all the while Yorgen Fenech was supposedly being investigated for his crimes. Today, Rosianne is still an MP and she is suing me in court on libel charges.
Disgraced Minister Konrad Mizzi
Konrad Mizzi opened companies in Panama to launder bribes from Yorgen Fenech over the Electrogas power-station. Konrad Mizzi was also responsible for other corrupt contracts including the Enemalta wind-farm in Montenegro and the privitisation of Malta’s hospitals.
Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, Keith Schembri
Keith Schembri was a close friend of Yorgen Fenech who is being accused in court of commissioning the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia who investigated the Electrogas project. Schembri opened Panama companies like Mizzi to receive bribes and also allegedly received bribes in hsi account at Pilatus Bank for selling Maltese passports to Russians. Schembri tried to cover up for Melvin Theuma, the middleman of Daphne’s murder and also gave him a job at the Office of the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat
Basically, everything apart from very recently, allegedly taking bribes from his corrupt hospitals’ privitsation deal. Joseph Muscat is also being accused of having had a Panama company registered in Brian Tonna’s name. Muscat says that he didn’t know anything about what Keith Schembri and Yorgen Fenech were doing behind his back.
Here is an infographic that can explain the criminal web in more detail:
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