Schembri seeks access to inquiry that prompted his arrest

Keith Schembri’s lawyers have asked the court to order that their client be given a copy of the magisterial inquiry that prompted his arrest.

In an urgent judicial application filed with the duty magistrate this morning, lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo confirmed that Schembri was arrested at 12:30am on Tuesday and was denied access to his lawyers.

The lawyers said Schembri was informed that his arrest was linked to the conclusions of a magisterial inquiry that was passed on to the Attorney General a few weeks ago.

READ ALSO: Keith Schembri was arrested at his Mellieħa home at 1am after court's freezing order

The inquiry investigated allegations of kickbacks that Schembri received from Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna over the sale of Maltese citizenship to a Russian family. The allegations emerged in April 2017 and were at the time dismissed by Schembri.

In their judicial application, Schembri’s lawyers have asked the duty magistrate to ensure that their client’s rights are not breached by ensuring that he is given full disclosure by the police of the evidence they have at hand.

They are also asking the court to allow Schembri access to his lawyers, which he has been denied for several hours.

READ ALSO: Criminal Court issues freezing order on Schembri, Tonna, families and business accounts