Opposition leader Bernard Grech has accused Robert Abela of ordering Labour media to fly a drone over his home to film it. 

In a Facebook post, Grech said he believed the drone was part of the prime minister’s attempt to deflect attention away from questions about property deals Abela undertook as a lawyer. 

“Today, after he fired the editor of the GWU newspaper because he did not give in to his orders, Robert Abela sent a drone to film my house in Mosta,” Grech said. 

“Instead of answering reporters’ legitimate question about his suspicious deals, he ordered One News to make up a story about me.” 

Abela said on Monday afternoon that the media should look at the “villa with a pool” that the Opposition leader had built “with €6,000 a year in income.” He did not elaborate further. 

A PN spokesperson said that the Grech family noticed a drone flying over the family home earlier that day, at around 4.45pm.

Grech said that he had nothing to hide and that he and his family had worked on their family home for decades, at times doing manual labour himself.

“I was not born with a silver spoon and I was never given anything by a criminal,” Grech said, alluding to his political rival. 

Times of Malta has reported that Abela had entered into a promise of sale agreement with a man police suspect of leading a criminal group. The deal, which dates back to 2018, saw Abela cede his stake to a company belonging to Christian Borg. 

Sources within financial circles say the method used to cede that stake is often used when seeking to avoid tax or conceal illicit payments.  

Abela has denied any wrongdoing and on Monday said that the property in question was a small parcel of land in Zabbar. He has yet to provide any details about the deal.