Minister Konrad Mizzi's decision to close down his Panama company was an admission of guilt and it was too little, too late, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said this evening.

During a news conference this evening, Dr Busuttil said the Nationalist Party will hold a national protest against corruption on Sunday in Valletta.

"I invite all those who are disgusted with government corruption to join the protest," Dr Busuttil said.

This would be the first of a series of activities to be held in this vein.

Dr Busuttil said the people were still waiting to see what the Prime Minister would do about the scandals revealed recently.

Referring to Dr Mizzi's decision to close down a company he had set up in Panama, Dr Busuttil said Panama was well known for its financial secrecy. Dr Mizzi's call for an investigation by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue was therefore a farce.

There was no assurance that Dr Mizzi would really close his company or if he would open another one.

"The only assurance I can give you is that I do not believe Konrad Mizzi," Dr Busuttil said. 

He pointed out that Dr Mizzi had set up a company in Panama and a trust in New Zealand after he became minister, when he was responsible for government projects worth several millions.

"He needs to shoulder responsibility. To now say he will close his Panama company is simply not enough" Dr Busuttil said. 

"This government is rotten to the core."  

"Everybody knows what setting up a company in Panama means, and to set up such a company there after one becomes a minister is unacceptable."

In any other European country, Konrad Mizzi would already have resigned

"In any other European country, Konrad Mizzi would already have resigned," he said.

"His decision to close down the company is too little, too late, it is an admission of guilt," Dr Busuttil said. 

The problem was not the company but Dr Mizzi, Joseph Muscat and the scandal-ridden government. 

It was immaterial that Dr Mizzi was saying there were no funds in his Panama company. One did not  set up a company for nothing, everyone knew why such companies were were set up, and one could not ascertain whether or not there actually were funds, Dr Busuttil said.

Referring to reports that the prime minister's chief of staff, Keith Schembri, held a similar trust in New Zealand and a foreign company, Dr Busuttil said one seriously doubted that the prime minister had not known about them, but in any case, he needed to shoulder responsibility.

The chief of staff's position too was untenable, Dr Busuttil said. 

"Whenever you think that this government has reached the pits, it keeps digging deeper... Muscat has now exceeded the limits of common decency, and the people are angry and disgusted by his reaction to the scandal. He can't pretend as though nothing was going on.”

PL REACTION

In a reaction, the Labour Party said Dr Busuttil had not repeated what he said in Parliament last week about bags containing millions, but had said he did not know if money was involved. He had not mentioned a single case of corruption and had not said whether anyone had done anything illegal.

Asked to guarantee that no member of his parliamentary group had overseas trusts, he had not replied.

The only thing Dr Busuttil was doing was to try to divide the people by calling a mass meeting. 

"Dr Busuttil has people to choose from to speak about corruption," the PL said without elaboration.