ADPD calls for Minister's resignation over fake ID cards racket

Home Affairs, Law Enforcement and National Security minister Byron Camilleri's failure to resign over recent claims that a racket at Identitá had issued some 18,000 fake identity cards in return for bribes showed his lack of leadership qualities, said ADPD- the Green Party in a statement, calling for his resignation, on Saturday.

It was In July that news about the racket first broke, but gained traction the following month after lawyer Jason Azzopardi detailed the workings and the sheer scale of the alleged scheme in a 59-page court application he filed, requesting an urgent magisterial inquiry to collect and preserve evidence about it. 

In the Saturday statement, ADPD said the issue was not only a matter of concern on a national level but also on a European one due to the right of free movement in the border-free Schengen Area that holders of Maltese ID cards enjoy. 

ADPD - The Green Party’s Secretary General Ralph Cassar said that the fact that it was easy to give 18,000 people an identity card with false details, including in some cases identity theft, was “a symptom of two things: the indifference of whoever is issuing these documents and the potential collusion between authority officers and the world of crime.  It is highly unlikely that such a large volume of documents containing false information could have been produced without a well-planned, orchestrated effort involving multiple individuals and substantial amounts of money, as has been claimed on several occasions.”

“The fact that Byron Camilleri was not able to take political responsibility and resign clearly showed that he does not have the necessary qualities to lead. He does not realise the gravity of the scandals and corruption that is happening around him,"  Cassar said. He remarked that in order for the situation to have escalated to this extent, there must be significant amounts of money involved.  “Additionally, it is probable that the people involved believed that they could get away with it despite the high level of risk involved.  The impunity that Malta has become famous for after the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has inspired some individuals to take advantage of the non-existent authority and the lack of law enforcement and see how much money they could make. And they appear to have succeeded.”

The party’s chairperson Sandra Gauci said that the people involved in this massive scandal need to pay the consequences of their actions. “We can no longer treat those who are jeopardising the Schengen agreement for the Maltese to be let off with a slap on the wrist.  The usefulness of the identity card in the health services is also threatened because now nobody is sure of anything, so much so that further documents such as a passport are being requested to make sure that the person in front of them is genuine.

"Another burden thrown on the backs of our hospital workers is the negligence and the institutionalised corruption that are entrenched in the system.  Even our health system is at a loss and its data is accessible to anyone and can use that data as they see fit. Nothing and nobody are protected anymore except those who steal and embezzle. The citizen is bereft of any form of protection from any possible angle because the institutions that were supposed to look out for the interests of the citizen have now taken advantage of the situation and stripped citizens of everything, including their identity. 

"There is a need to give this case the importance it deserves because these things did not happen by accident but with intention. Everyone who is involved needs to pay dearly and justice needs to be harsh with them. We can no longer brush off the responsibilities of those who weave this deceptive net for gain from the backs of people who are probably desperate and believe that this is the way things are done, when in fact this was another institutionalised yet illegal way to make money from foreigners who thought they would find a better life in our country. Political responsibility must be carried, and Byron Camilleri needs to be removed immediately. We know his true worth now,” Gauci said.