Opposition leader Bernard Grech said on Sunday Joe Giglio’s doubts about the credibility of whistleblower Maria Efimova do not reflect the party’s position.
During an interview with Andrew Azzopaerdi on 103 Malta’s Heart FM on Saturday, home affairs shadow minister Joe Giglio said he has “serious reservations” about Efimova, stressing she is “a person who manipulates facts”.
The accomplished lawyer said he has “serious doubts” about her claims because he had proof her allegations of missing payments from Pilatus Bank were not true.
Replying to questions sent by Times of Malta, a PN spokesperson said both the party and Bernard Grech believe there should be a “distinction between the MP's profession and politics”.
“What was said yesterday (Saturday) morning does not reflect the party’s position. Bernard Grech and the Nationalist Party believe and want the whole truth to come out,” he said.
The PN urges authorities to work on the necessary investigations to ensure that “all the truth emerges and justice is served”.
Taking to Facebook on Sunday, Giglio said that during the interview he was asked about his role as a lawyer in the case. "I expressed my personal thoughts on the facts I had at the time."
“We demand that the country’s authorities do their duty to bring out the whole truth and I will continue to push them for this to be done without further delay," he wrote.
“No one will intimidate me or the Nationalist Party from continuing our fight to uncover the whole truth and ensure that justice is served,” Giglio added.
For a short period of time, Giglio had served as the now-defunct bank’s legal advisor. While working on the case, he said he had come in possession of evidence that showed Efimova was not being truthful and he had text messages to prove this.
He said he dropped Pilatus as a client after Prime Minister Robert Abela, then a Labour candidate, linked his name to the 2017 election because of his work with Pilatus.
Efimova was the person who claimed that the secret company Egrant belonged to Michelle Muscat, former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's wife. Efimova had passed on her information to murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Giglio's comments on Saturday sparked criticism from PN MEPs and MPs who asked why he would doubt the Egrant whistleblower.
PN MP Karol Aquilina warned Giglio that he was undermining the memory of Caruana Galizia when he cast doubt over Efimova's credibility.
And former MP Jason Azzopardi, a lawyer for the Caruana Galizia family, said "It's a black day for a party with a glorious history when it takes the side of the corrupt."