PM hopes Whistleblower Act could help shed light on unresolved murders

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat hopes the new Whistleblower Act will help shed light on unresolved murder cases which date back to over 40 years ago.

He is also hoping that more information is made available on the BWSC saga and shady public contracts awarded in the past.

While insisting the government was not embarking on a witch-hunt, he said the new law was making it possible for people with any new information to come forward.

"We are ready to give protection to anyone with genuine and new information on unresolved cases," Muscat told journalists gathered at Auberge de Castille for a press conference on the Whistleblower Act recently approved in parliament.

Asked whether he was referring to the murders of Karin Grech and Raymond Caruana, Muscat nodded yes adding there were other crimes which dated back to the 60s, 70s and 80s left unresolved.   

Present for the press conference were Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia, parliamentary secretary for justice Owen Bonnici, government whip David Agius and MPs Deborah Schembri, Chris Agius and Luciano Busuttil.

Muscat said a law protecting a whistleblower and the removal of time-barring on cases of political corruption working in tandem was essential in fighting corruption.

"The third chapter in our fight against corruption will be concluded before the end of year when we legislate over party financing," the Prime Minister said.

He said his government had taken a conscious decision to allow the Opposition "time" to analyse its financial position before regulating financing of political parties.

"We didn't want to be accused of trying to corner the Opposition and so we chose to delay the party financing law until the end of year. But together, these three laws, are sending a message that this government wants to take the fight against corruption to an unprecedented level," Muscat said.

Counteracting arguments by the Opposition that the government's Whistleblower Act was "almost identical" to that presented by the Opposition, Muscat there were "specific and important" changes.

"Most importantly, the law applies to cases which occurred in the past whereas, as proposed by the PN administration, the law would apply to present and future cases," he said.

The second important change, Muscat said, was the number of incentives laid out in the law to encourage people to speak up on corruption.

"These incentives didn't feature before, incentives which range from reduction of sentences to immunity and the provision of a new identity," he said.

Muscat added the award of a new identity would be given under the witness protection programme, where the person could be sent abroad.

Another level of identity protection would be the possibility of the whistleblower's name to never feature in court. When possible, the whistleblower would be asked not to testify in court if he would have instead presented documents as proof.

Both Muscat and the junior minister stressed the increased number of tools given to institutions such as the courts and the Attorney General will decrease substantially the need for an individual to seek presidential pardon.

"The option remains but is now limited. We are thus giving people the peace of mind that politicians, as much as possible, are not to be involved," he said.

The last presidential pardon was granted by the Nationalist Cabinet, in February, to oil trader George Farrugia who turned state witness in the alleged award of commissions by commodities firm Trafigura for the sale of oil to Enemalta.