Malta’s Shanghai consul, who stands charged with money laundering, had been granted permission to work in public service by former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, the government said on Monday.

In a statement, the government said that Aldo Cutajar, who on Sunday was charged with money laundering, had had a previous ban from working with the government lifted back in 2005. 

The statement came after calls for an investigation into how Cutajar had been appointed to the position of consul in 2018 despite a 2005 fraud conviction. 

The accused is the brother of Mario Cutajar who heads the civil service. 

The conviction had seen Cutajar banned from working with the government again. 

The interdiction was overturned by another court a year later.

The government said that Cutajar’s case had been reviewed by the Public Service Commission  which recommended the ban be lifted. 

This was then signed off on by Gonzi, then prime minister under the Nationalist administration, the government said. 

Cutajar went on to work in several entities under a variety of ministers, the statement reads. 

The government said that 11 years after his ban had been lifted, Cutajar was sent to Malta’s embassy in Beijing. Two years later he was sent to the consulate in Shanghai. His position was terminated on September 7, 2019, the government said. 

Cutajar was arraigned on Sunday after police raided his Naxxar home and discovered more than €500,000 in cash along with jewellery, watches, and other luxury items. 

Police told a court that he was also believed to have some $400,000 in a Dubai bank account. 

He has denied the charges.