The Leader of the Opposition has accused the attorney general of acting as a "puppet" of the prime minister by withholding publication of an inquiry into offshore company 17 Black.
During an interview on Tuesday with PN veteran journalist Dione Borg on his NET FM program Kuntatt, Bernard Grech described Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg as “the puppet of Robert Abela.”
Grech reiterated his call for the inquiry to be made public, stressing the need for transparency.
The 17 Black inquiry focuses on a secret company owned by Yorgen Fenech which was allegedly set up to funnel funds to former Chief of Staff Keith Schembri and Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi, purportedly linked to the Electrogas power station.
Fenech, who is awaiting trial for complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, is one of the shareholders of the Electrogas consortium.
Electrogas won the lucrative contract to build and run a power station during Schembri and Mizzi's time in office as part of the Joseph Muscat-led government.
The inquiry, which was led by Magistrate Charmaine Galea, was initiated in 2018 after the police received a Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) report concerning the company.
On Monday, Opposition Leader Grech, former PN leader Simon Busuttil, and MEP David Casa revealed that Buttigieg had refused to provide them with copies of the inquiry report.
When Times of Malta asked the attorney general's office whether the report will be made public, the office said that its attorneys are "in the process of examining the inquiry" and "preparing the necessary steps to proceed with the prosecution."
Schembri, Mizzi, and many others are expected to be among those charged with crimes as a result of the inquiry and its findings.
Under Malta's current laws, magisterial inquiries are secret.
Speaking a few days ago, Prime Minister Robert Abela said he wanted the 17 Black inquiry published and believed such inquiries should be significantly more transparent than is currently the case.
Grech said on Tuesday that Abela was acting like a dictator.
“This is a classic case of a dictatorial government...a reaction from a government losing its grip on power,” Grech said.
“If we want to live in a better country, we need a unified voice to challenge corruption and hold those in power accountable,” he argued.
Grech emphasised the Nationalist Party’s role as the sole opposition in parliament capable of driving change, citing the Jean Paul Sofia case as an example.