Opposition leader Bernard Grech has accused Prime Minister Robert Abela of being a ‘serial tax evader’ for the way he bought his villa in an ODZ zone in Zejtun, and later for renting it out to Russians seeking to buy Maltese passports. 

He told a rally in Victoria, Gozo that Abela was continuing to refuse to publish tax declarations and other documents related to the villa, despite being asked to on Sunday. 

Abela had declared that he bought his villa for €600,000 and yet with the stroke of a pen it became worth millions and he thus enriched himself, Grech said.  

Surrounding properties, sold earlier had gone for a much higher price than that claimed by Abela, Grech said. So how wasn't he investigated?

“We are still waiting - he has not published the documents yet. I ask Robert, why do you not want to publish these documents? Is it because you have something to hide or because a tax declaration never took place? If no report was made, then we would have another confirmation of how you abuse your power.” 

And as if that was not enough, Abela later made thousands of euro by renting out his villa to Russian applicants for a Maltese passport, Grech continued. 

“Robert Abela puts himself first, that is why the government took so long to halt the citizenship scheme and stop selling passports to Russian oligarchs after the invasion of Ukraine. He made it very clear that his needs come first,” Grech told supporters at a rally in Victoria, Gozo.

PN proposals for Gozo

In his address, Grech repeated the PN's promises for Gozo and said they were  not copied or recycled, unlike the PL's. 

"We have listened to you, we have included Gozo in our vision, the sister island is not just an afterthought," he said.

The PN promises include a new 400-bed hospital, new ferries, a new MCAST campus, payment for travel time for workers who live in Gozo but work in Malta, and terminating the Steward Healthcare hospital deal.