Koħħu implicated Cabinet member in crime, Jason Azzopardi says

The Nationalist MP and lawyer of the Caruana Galizia family has alleged that a Cabinet minister is implicated in a serious crime by none other than one of the triggermen in the journalist’s assassination: Vincent Muscat ‘il-Koħħu’.

Jason Azzopardi declared on Saturday during a programme on 103FM that Prime Minister Robert Abela has been aware since March 2020 that a member of his Cabinet – “not a lawyer” – has been implicated in a crime by Muscat, in his pleas to police for a presidential pardon in return for information on a series of crimes.

Azzopardi refused to elaborate on who the alleged Cabinet member is or what crime he is referring to.

But his declaration chimed in with allegations advanced in court by Muscat’s lawyer, Marc Sant, who accused lead inspector Keith Arnaud and Kurt Zahra of playing for time in the interests of “prominent third parties”, in delaying a decision over Muscat’s request for a presidential pardon.

According to Muscat’s court protest, filed back in September 2020, the only reason for the “exaggerated delay” were hidden interests to protect “prominent individuals” yet to be mentioned in connection with Caruana Galizia’s murder.

Muscat held five sessions with the police between January and February 2020, detailing his knowledge of various crimes predating the Caruana Galizia assassination.

Muscat now wants the entire cabinet from 2017 to date, including former prime minister Joseph Muscat and former chief of staff Keith Schembri, to testify about his presidential pardon request.

Muscat says it was him who pointed the finger at middleman Melvin Theuma back in April 2018, leading police to the middleman in the Caruana Galizia assassination.

Muscat filed another formal request for a pardon when Theuma and alleged mastermind Yorgen Fenech were arrested by the police in connecti­on with the murder in November 2019.

Muscat now wants the pending trial over his alleged involvement in the 2010 failed HSBC heist to be postponed until a decision is taken on his pardon, ostensibly because the information he has to offer is also related to this case.

Marc Sant told MaltaToday earlier this week that Prime Minister Robert Abela should consider recusing himself on any Cabinet discussion dealing with a pardon for Muscat, given that he previously represented the Agius brothers – mentioned in open court by Melvin Theuma as the suppliers of the bomb that killed Caruana Galizia – on financial disputes.

“I hope he is aware that his is not the only conflict of interest among the current Cabinet members,” Sant said, referring to his client’s case dealing with his request for a pardon. “In our judicial acts we did not mention prominent persons, including some involved in politics, capriciously,” Sant said, refusing to delve any further into his client’s suggestions.

A joint investigation by MaltaToday and The Times showed the Agius brothers, who police believe are at the head of an organised crime group, are part of the conspiracy that supplied the bomb used to assassinate Caruana Galizia in 2017.

Muscat’s former defence lawyer, Arthur Azzopardi, had told the Caruana Galizia public inquiry in 2020 that his client’s information had been dismissed as hearsay evidence. But Azzopardi, who has represented Robert Agius in fending off drug trafficking charges, dropped his brief for Muscat in November 2019. MaltaToday later established that Keith Arnaud was then given the impression by Azzopardi that Muscat would recant on his claim that Melvin Theuma was the middleman in the assassination; recordings between Theuma and an associate also confirm they had inside information that Muscat would be made to recant, although this never happened.