Updated 11.55am with ADPD statement below -

Prime Minister Robert Abela is not fit to be prime minister in the wake of the benefit fraud scandal rooted at the Auberge de Castille, the rule of law NGO Repubblika said on Monday.

It observed that hundreds of people had received millions of euro in benefits by filing fraudulent documents claiming severe disability. They were aided and abetted by officials at the office of the prime minister and various ministries, the NGO claimed. 

Speaking in front of the steps of Auberge de Castille, Repubblika president Robert Aquilina said that the signatures of medical specialists were forged in the prime minister's office. 

"Over here, signatures were forged," Aquilina said, pointing at Castille as he stood in front of a banner with the word 'corruption' written against a red background. 

Times of Malta revealed earlier this month that former PL MP Silvio Grixti was at the centre of the fraudulent severe disability benefit scheme that saw millions of euros given to people who were not eligible. 

Times of Malta also interviewed three of the benefit recipients, including a man who said a Labour Party canvasser and a former minister’s aide lured him into the benefit fraud racket in return for his vote and a kickback amounting to a year’s worth of benefits. 

On Monday morning, Aquilina said that Robert Abela was at the helm of a "criminal government" and should stop hindering the course of justice. 

"It is evident that this corrupt and criminal system involves Castille, and so it is evident that Robert Abela should not be in a public role, including that of prime minister," he said.

Aquilina said that the government hid the fraudulent scheme from the people on the eve of a general election − despite now admitting to knowing about it − so that "bought votes would still be cast". 

"They hid a torrent of abuse", the Repubblika president said. 

Aquilina said statements made by people who benefitted from the scam showed that persons of trust in government ministries, people in the Labour Party and persons of trust in the prime minister's office were all involved in the racket. 

Some of the people who approached the government for help were eligible for other benefits but not those for severe disability, he said. 

"Instead of helping them get what they were actually entitled to, they made them accomplices in a criminal organisation". 

Aquilina noted that Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa had still not arraigned any of the "criminal masterminds" in the racket, and the government had  appointed an administrative inquiry only when it was found out. 

The rule of law NGO demanded political responsibility for anyone involved; the arraignment of those involved;  an account of all the money that was stolen;  the reimbursement of the funds and that Robert Abela stop using the tools of the state to help himself and "his criminal friends".

The police complicit in hiding Labour’s dirt − ADPD

The disability benefit scandal revealed last week confirmed Labour’s insatiable lust for power and how the police were hiding the government's dirt, ADPD said.

It observed that a police investigation of MP Silvio Grixti and his immediate resignation in December 2021 meant that the police already had information of the scandal by then. It was clear that Grixti resigned to shift the focus off the Labour Party and the government during the election campaign.

The party asked how much information the police knew by then, and why they did not take further action at the time

"As a result of this delay the police ended up protecting the Labour Party in its vote-stealing exercise which seems to have involved 800 people. The police kept things under wraps because of the elections. The police force protected Labour from the potential fallout from their own filth during the election campaign," ADPD said.

"This complicity in protecting Labour should be investigated. While the processes of today’s investigations may be proper, the delay in the actual investigations led to vote-buying. Investigations into the racket need to leave no stone unturned and all lines of inquiry need to be pursued," the party insisted. 

Party chairperson Sandra Gauci said: ”Given the timeline of the case and the withholding of information two years ago, it is of no wonder that the freedom and independence of our police force continues to be questioned. We will continue following developments in this case of electoral corrupt practices, abuse of power, institutional corruption and money laundering, and inform our European party, the European Green Party and the Green Group in the European Parliament of the corrupt political playingfield we operate in.”