Updated at 12.53pm with PL reaction
Opposition leader Adrian Delia on Sunday challenged the police commissioner to come question him immediately about allegations that he laundered money linked to a Soho prostitution ring.
The Sunday Times of Malta has revealed that Dr Delia’s link to this prostitution ring features in an ongoing money-laundering investigation by the police.
The issue dates back to 2004, when a Barclays International account in Jersey held in Dr Delia’s name was reportedly used to process the payments of rents for London properties used for prostitution.
Addressing supporters in Gudja on Sunday morning, Dr Delia invited the police commissioner to ask him any questions he wanted, as he had nothing to hide.
“I was acting as a lawyer back then. I never broke the law. I never laundered money for myself or others”, Dr Delia said.
Turning his guns on the Labour government, Dr Delia said there was clear proof that the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Keith Schembri and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi were involved in money-laundering.
He demanded that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat shoulder political responsibility for their actions.
‘Labour backed into a corner'
Dr Delia referenced another report by The Sunday Times of Malta stating that Mr Schembri and Dr Mizzi would fall into the scope of the 17 Black investigation.
He said information about a police investigation into his own activities had only been given because Labour had its back to the wall.
The Opposition leader said the auditor general’s report about the power station contracts contained page upon page of reasons why Dr Mizzi should resign.
Statements by Dr Mizzi that the auditor general showed the power station process was a case of “best practice” continued to confirm that we were not living in normal country, Dr Delia said.
Read: 'I will not rush to conclusions on Delia' - Muscat
Dr Delia pointed out that Brian Tonna, the same person who set up Panama companies for Mr Schembri and Dr Mizzi, as well as the infamous Egrant, was appointed to sit on the committee which chose the winning bidder for the power station project.
The government’s showed it intended to continue “stealing” millions from the public at every opportunity it got.
Shades of the past
Dr Delia likened the culture of impunity being created today to that of when Raymond Caruana was murdered over thirty years ago.
Back then, Labour used to protect criminals and let them run the country, Dr Delia said.
He said it was incumbent on the PN to make sure such occurrences never happened again.
“Let us again rise to the occasion as a party. Let us unite. We have a fight on our hands. Let us defend democracy in our country”, Dr Delia said.
'Surreal' - PL
The Labour Party dismissed Dr Delia’s speech as “surreal”.
“He gets to pick and choose which story in the Sunday Times of Malta is credible, and which isn’t. Which merits resignations and which doesn’t,” the PL said, saying the PN leader was being forced to fight the “negative” battles of his predecessors.