Abela confirms contact with Keith Schembri: 'We're just talking'
PM says he sees nothing wrong with texting the former OPM chief of staff
Robert Abela has admitted that he is in contact with former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri, saying he sees nothing wrong with doing so at this stage.
In an interview with podcaster Ricky Caruana, Schembri said he was “still a Labourite and I’m helping Robert (Abela)” in the hope that the party wins the next general election.
When confronted about the matter on Wednesday morning, Abela said that he maintains an open communication channel with everybody, including Schembri.
However, Abela insisted, Schembri has no formal role within the Labour Party and there has been no change in this “lack of a role” in recent years.
“I keep a channel of communication with everyone, but this does not mean that I gave him a role,” Abela said.
“He communicates with me just like hundreds of others do,” he added, arguing that while Schembri faces a number of criminal accusations, he has yet to be condemned by Malta’s courts.
Schembri served as chief of staff to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat between 2013 and late 2019, maintaining that role even after he was exposed as having set up a secret offshore structure within weeks of assuming his OPM post.
He now faces multiple criminal charges in separate cases, ranging from money laundering to bribery and corruption, as well as divulging government secrets. Charges relate to cases such as the privatisation of state hospitals, the decision to award a lucrative power station contract to the Electrogas consortium and leaks from the police investigation into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Abela said that he would potentially reevaluate with Schembri if he were to be convicted by a criminal court.
“If there is a verdict that condemns him on any of those accusations and it becomes necessary to close the communication channel, then I will do so,” Abela said.
"But to this day, speaking to an individual in no way goes against rule of law principles. We're just talking, through messages, and the communication ends there."