Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said he is "looking forward to more scrutiny" after a magistrate upheld a request to hold an inquiry into an alleged scam involving the government's identity agency.

The allegations revolve around Identità issuing Maltese ID cards to foreigners based on forged documents.

On Tuesday afternoon, Camilleri - who is politically responsible for Identità - said the agency has always acted correctly by reporting illegalities to the police.

"When Identità, through its internal processes, found that something was done wrongly, it was the agency itself that reported the issue to the police," Camilleri said.

Those reports led to court prosecutions and sentences, he added.

"People who say Identità did not take reports seriously are wrong because it was the entity itself that flagged and reported the cases to the police," he said.

"This does not mean we don't want more scrutiny; I am the first one to say that I look forward to more scrutiny. This is what is right, and anything that someone did wrongly should be investigated," Camilleri said.

The Home Affairs Minister further stressed: "For as long as I've been a minister, I have always made sure that justice was done; no one can say that I ever tried to hide anything."

Anyone against whom evidence of wrongdoing was found would have to answer to the courts, he added. 

Lawyer Jason Azzopardi requested a magisterial inquiry two weeks ago in a sworn court application. 

Azzopardi bases his claims on statements made by an anonymous man who attended VIP parties where the party's organiser bragged about how easy it was for her to get work permits for her workers through contacts at Identitá.

She claimed these public officials were paid “large sums of money” or offered free invites to her parties where cocaine flowed “abundantly” and prostitutes mingled with distinguished guests.

The parties were attended by politicians from both parliamentary parties, Azzopardi said. 

Azzopardi claimed that since 2015, some 18,000 identity cards have been issued based on fake marriage certificates and that Identità officials have fabricated other documents.

When asked about the 18,000 figure, Camilleri responded that the numbers given to him by Identità are "completely different."

Asked to elaborate, Camilleri said more details will come from the investigation.

When questioned about his silence on the issue when it first surfaced at the end of July, Camilleri maintained that he has always given comments when asked.

Identità also released a statement following news of the inquiry, emphasizing its full cooperation with investigations. 

The agency said it initiated an internal probe, which led to individuals being charged in court after passing all of its evidence to the police. 

Identità said it maintains zero tolerance for abuse, committing to ongoing collaboration, including in the Magisterial Inquiry, to uphold public trust.

Rule of law NGO Repubblika said in reaction that this saga has once again highlighted police inaction despite the public evidence that Azzopardi brought forward.

This led him to seek a magisterial inquiry instead, they said. 

They also said that the racket has put Malta's national security under threat as it means that authorities cannot know if the information displayed on ID documents is genuine or not. 

Repubblika said the government has been systematically lying as fake ID cards have all been issued with false addresses.