Joseph Muscat defends Accutor payments, says police search was invasion of privacy / Malta News Briefing – Saturday 12 February 2022

Updated 1255

Joseph Muscat defends Accutor job, says police search was invasion of privacy

Joseph Muscat was back on the media this morning with an extensive interview on Lovin Malta. The former PM said that he was offered a job by a firm linked to Steward Healthcare right after he announced his intention to quit frontline politics. He insisted that he was approached by Pakistani lawyer Wasay Bhatti during the weeks between his December 2019 announcement that he would be stepping aside as prime minister and him actually moving on the subsequent month.
Bhatti’s company Accutor AG wired Muscat €60,000 within a few weeks in 2020. Muscat insisted this was consultancy work.

Muscat also lamented that the police search was ‘theatrics’ that irritated him significantly. He argued that he inteded to “fade away” and give space to his successor Robert Abela. “The search on my home was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Muscat said. “I realised that being at the fringes was being interpreted as me hiding away, which was not the case.” Muscat emphasised his close relationship with current Labour Ministers, and appeared to specifically highlight DPM Chris Fearne’s role in handling the pandemic.

The Nationalist Party media described this interview a not-so-veiled threat by Muscat to present PM Robert Abela.
(Times of Malta / Maltatoday

Covid-19 Update:

Six persons passed away in the last 24 hours, with the victims being two women aged 86 and 89, and four men, two of whom are aged 66 and the other two are aged 80 and 96. The number of people who have died since the beginning of the pandemic in Malta now stands at 585.
Health authorities said 107 new cases were found. With 198 recoveries, the number of active cases has gone down to 1,775.

Morning Briefing

Man caught trying to smuggle six-digit sum of cash in Italy

A 47-year-old Maltese man has been caught allegedly trying to smuggle more than €115,000 into Italy, according to the Guardia di Finanza, the Italian financial police. The find was made in the port of Catania just after he had driven off the ferry. The man reportedly said he had started acting suspiciously, giving contradictory answers and appearing uneasy. This led officials to conduct a thorough search of his vehicle. [Times of Malta]

PN says Govt shifting greylisting blame on business

The Nationalist Party said that the government is shifting the burden of Malta’s FATF greylisting onto businesses, importers, self-employed, professionals in the financial sector and consumers. Addressing a press briefing on Friday, spokesperson Peter Agius said hundreds contacted the Opposition to complain about excessive levels of scrutiny and bureaucracy they are dealing with. “Malta’s greylisting is the result of the incompetence and corruption of the Labour Government. Maltese businesses expect to be at least informed of the plans for a way out from this grey listing and expect to be assisted rather than have extra burdens placed on them. The PN is listening to all those affected. The government is making a huge mistake in acting alone while placing all burdens and consequences on the Maltese businesses,” Agius said.

Covid-19 Update: 143 new COVID-19 cases were reported, as three men died while positive with the virus, health authorities said. 209 patients have recovered, with active cases declining to 1,872, five of whom in ITU.