[WATCH] ‘Premeditated, calculated bailout by Joseph Muscat’ – Azzopardi on Café Premier

‘Premeditated, calculated bailout by Joseph Muscat’ – Azzopardi on Café Premier • Video by Ray Attard

Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi has accused the prime minister of lying in attributing the Auditor General’s scathing conclusions on the Café Premier acquisition to mere “shortcomings”.

The shadow justice minister accused Joseph Muscat of using an excuse to hide his own premeditated and calculated actions.

“We have his own confirmation that he twice met one of the directors before the election and, three weeks after he is elected prime minister, Mario Camilleri sends an email directly to Muscat,” Azzopardi said, referring to meetings Muscat had with the director of Cities Entertainment.

Camilleri claimed a €210,000 commission on the €4.2 million sale of a 65-year-lease on the Café Premier site, back to the government, which money was used to pay pending arrears and dues to the State, as well as the business’s privileged creditors and bank loans.

Flanked by MP Ryan Callus outside the shuttered Café Premier in Valletta, Azzopardi said Muscat immediately set a private meeting with Camilleri for 17 April. In May, Muscat held a meeting with the head of civil service Mario Cutajar and consultant John Sciberras. “Muscat once again meets with Camilleri and, in a meeting presided by the PM himself to which no other Cabinet member or the Lands Commissioner were present, the negotiations were finalised,” Azzopardi said.

The MP claimed that Muscat’s use of his own personal email was the cherry on the cake: “He used his own personal email to avoid leaving any traces on his official government email account.”

He also claimed that Muscat did not want other persons on the deal when an identical offered was made to Cities Entertainment by entrepreneur Anglu Xuereb. “The Prime Minister is hiding a scandal where a company settled its debts through money the taxpayers had to fork out.”

On his part, Callus took exception at Muscat’s statement that his government had shouldered political responsibility by giving the National Audit Office full disclosure on the Café Premier affair.

“He is trying to take credit for an investigation he didn’t order. What does he think? That he can stop the Auditor General from carrying out his investigations? He must be joking if he thinks that compiling a report is enough,” the MP said.

Callus said the Cabinet had been “misled” over a memo on the bailout presented to the ministers, because it failed to make reference to the €2.5 million that was to be paid to Banif Bank. “The government should have never interfered in private matters,” Callus added.