Former Nationalist minister Ninu Zammit would not take any questions on press reports that he had held about $3.2 million in a secret Swiss account.

The former minister for resources and infrastructure told Times of Malta yesterday he had “nothing to add” to what he had already said when it was reported that his name featured on a leaked list of people who had held secret accounts in Geneva.

The list is held by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and French newspaper Le Monde, parts of which have been seen by The Malta Independent on Sunday.

Out of the 71 Malta-based clients on the list, 24 are Maltese passport holders.

Mr Zammit’s silence on the matter yesterday followed a stern warning by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat that all measures provided by law would be taken against those on the list.

“We will give a fair hearing to all those on this list and, where action needs to be taken, it will be, regardless of political sides,” Dr Muscat said.

On the same list featuring Mr Zammit also were former PN Cabinet minister Michael Falzon and ex-Enemalta chairman Tancred Tabone.

It was not previously known how much Mr Zammit held in his secret account while he was a member of the PN administration’s Cabinet.

Unlike Mr Falzon, who disclosed that he had the Maltese lira equivalent of €465,000 deposited with HSBC in Geneva, Mr Zammit refused to say how much his investment was worth, insisting he had since regularised his position through an amnesty last year.

The leaked documents indicate that, during a visit to Switzerland in September 2005, Mr Zammit discussed with his banker how best to avoid the European Savings Directive, providing for a tax on earnings made by EU citizens outside the member State where they reside and pay taxes. It also turns out, according to the leaked documents, that Mr Zammit had devised a plan to transfer his money to a corporate account in the British Virgin Islands, a move that his banker claims was aimed at avoiding falling into withholding tax.

Mr Zammit is being investigated by the Commissioner for Revenue, who is also probing into the Falzon and Tabone cases, along with the local branch of HSBC.

Prior to his appointment as infrastructure minister – a position that, at one point, included oil exploration - Mr Zammit also served as parliamentary secretary for water and energy and, later, as minister for agriculture and fisheries.

Despite, holding a sizeable Swiss account, he never claimed to have more than Lm20,000 (€48,000) in “all banks” in his ministerial declaration of assets.

He did declare, however, a sizeable portfolio of agricultural lands, three residences and stocks.