Updated 2.10pm with Labour statement

Independent candidate Arnold Cassola has questioned whether Prime Minister Robert Abela was involved in the sale of a high-speed boat to Robert Agius, one of the Maksar brothers, linked to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

In a press conference held outside the Office of the Prime Minister in Valletta on Saturday, Cassola said he had written to Abela with a simple question in February, but both the letter and his various reminders had remained unanswered.

Cassola has asked the prime minister to confirm or deny that he was involved in the sale of a Chaudron powerboat to Agius at some point between 2008 and 2012. 

Speaking on Saturday while holding a photo of a similar boat, Cassola said the Maltese people deserved to know whether their prime minister had done business “with people whom he knew were alleged assassins.”

He did not specify what Abela's alleged role in the deal was, or why Abela would have known at the time that the brothers were "alleged assassins". 

The Maksar brothers are suspected of being involved in multiple gangland crimes and currently stand accused of supplying the bomb used to kill journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

Their father Raymond Agius, 49, was shot at point-blank range at Butterfly Bar in Birkirkara in April 2008.

Abela was a lawyer to the brothers between 2008 and 2012, at the time while his father, George Abela, was president of Malta.

Multiple questions about Abela’s business dealings in his time before he was prime minister have emerged in recent weeks, from the odd timing of his involvement in a property deal with alleged kidnapper Christian Borg, questions about the rationalization process for his Żejtun villa and revelations about his law firm’s €17,000-a-month retainer with the Planning Authority.

Labour: Abela has already denied this

The Labour Party replied to Cassola's press conference with a brief statement in which they said that Abela had already "publicly and categorically" denied the allegation in the course of a press conference this past week. 

"Arnold Cassola knows that he is speaking about a lie," the PL said. 

In the press conference in question, Abela was asked a series of questions about his alleged business dealings with the Maksar brothers, including claims that he was owed an outstanding €5,000 for the powerboat transaction. 

He replied by saying he never sold any boat to the people in question and categorically denied receiving payment in kind for any services rendered to them.