'Desperate Simon Busuttil will do anything for power' - Labour

A former employee of Pilatus Bank, the source of allegations that the wife of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is the beneficial owner of Egrant Inc, is facing charges before the Court of Magistrates for fraud, misappropriation of funds, aggravated theft and unlawful practice, the Labour Party said this afternoon.

In a press conference called by deputy leader for party affairs Chris Cardona and Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis, the PL accused opposition leader Simon Busuttil of being “dangerous, irresponsible and desperate, who will resort to anything to get elected to power”.

Cardona denied that the PL was using the woman’s court cases to discredit the allegations and said: “The blogger has relied to create a fictional story, based on claims that were made to her by a person who at the moment is facing a number of charges in court from Pilatus bank.”

“We have full confidence in the institutions and will not comment on the inquiry.”

It was Daphne Caruana Galizia who on Friday evening revealed that the former employee had been the source of her reports. She reported in her blog that the woman had asked to testify before the magisterial inquiry.

The former Pilatus employee has denied charges in court by police inspectors Jonathan Ferris and Lara Butters, of theft and fraud to the detriment of Pilatus Bank, and travel agency Enrico Travel.

It was reported that the woman faces separate charges of having falsely accused Superintendent Denis Theuma and inspectors Jonathan Ferris and Lara Butters of having committed an offence she knew they did not commit. The charges to this second case were also filed in August last year.

Zammit Lewis and Cardona accused Busuttil of going at lengths to get elected to power.

“He is irresponsible and desperate, focusing on destabilizing the country’s economy and creating uncertainty by basing his campaign on a person known to have lied multiple times,” the ministers said.

“It reflects on Busuttil’s own character, who has now lost all credibility.”

Zammit Lewis said it was ironic that Beppe Fenech Adami – the PN’s deputy leader – was holding press conferences on the matter when the CapitalOne inquiry failed to fully exonerate Fenech Adami from any involvement.

The whole saga has led to Godfrey Farrugia to resign as government whip, who remains a member of the PL parliamentary group. Zammit Lewis said they respected Farrugia’s decision, whom they described as being “a serious person”.