Pilatus whistleblower Maria Efimova takes to Twitter

Pilatus Bank whistleblower Maria Efimova has opened a Twitter account, part of a gradual relaxation of her hitherto heavily guarded privacy.

Efimova, who, just two days ago, was freed from custody in Greece following a failed attempt to have her extradited to Malta, is understood to still have safety concerns.

This did not stop her from putting up a full face picture on her Twitter account – the first time many have seen the whistleblower whose name is synonymous with Pilatus bank and murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, to whom she leaked documents showing Michelle Muscat, the wife of the Prime Minister as having been the owner of a secret Panamanian company, Egrant, which had been set up after the 2013 elections.

Efimova, a former employee at Pilatus Bank, was issued with a European arrest warrant last year after she twice failed to turn up for sittings before a Maltese court to face charges of fraud filed by her former employer. She is also accused in separate proceedings of having made false accusations against Superintendent (now Assistant Commissioner) Denis Theuma, and the police inspectors who had interrogated her.

This week a Greek court ruled against a European Arrest Warrant issued against Efimova on the grounds that there were concerns as to whether Efimova would be granted a fair trial, as well as risks to her safety if she were to be returned.

In her 15 tweets, Efimova has asked why there has been no prosecution of Claude Anne Sant Fournier, Pilatus Bank’s Head of Legal, Director and MLRO to date, tweeted her thanks to MEP David Casa who expressed his disappointment at the Greek prosecutor’s decision to appeal the refusal of the woman’s extradition and spoken of her bereavement at the murder of Caruana Galizia.

In one cryptic tweet she said: “I am not Maltese, but I like Malta and its people a lot. If it was not for my family's safety, I wouldn't live the country. And this fight is not against Malta, but against wretched cowards who threatens the weak and stabs the strong in the back. Together we can win this fight.”