Three separate applications by lawyer Jason Azzopardi for magisterial inquiries into alleged corruption and money laundering by Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri have been dismissed by a magistrate.

The requests concerned allegations involving Camilleri, his wife and ministry officials concerning road works in Nadur, berthing rights in Mġarr and works on a sports centre swimming pool in Victoria.  

All three were dismissed by Magistrate Brigitte Sultana on Monday, who concluded the requests did not satisfy the prerequisites laid down by law for such inquiries to be requested.

Two of the requests had previously been made before the courts in Malta but were dismissed after magistrates ruled that they should have been filed in Gozo. Azzopardi had subsequently refiled them before the law courts in Gozo. 

In all three cases, the magistrate noted that Azzopardi's requests for "mobile phones, servers and devices" to be seized to preserve evidence on them was "extremely generic" and "raised doubts about the reliability of information provided by the applicant."  

Magistrate Sultana also noted that not all the offences cited in the requests carried a potential penalty of more than three years imprisonment - a requirement for such citizen-led inquiry requests. 

And while Azzopardi had spoken of a web of corruption, money laundering and bribery, there was no description of how this had taken place. There was no description of any layering, which normally took place in money laundering and no document was provided to show bribery or unexplained wealth, the magistrate ruled.

No link had been established between Camilleri and the alleged crimes, she added.

Although Azzopardi had presented various media reports in support of his claims, those articles did not amount to evidence as required by law but were  the opinion of the journalist and the conclusions and interpretations of the applicant, the magistrate said. 

Furthermore, the information gathered by third parties and given to the applicant in his capacity as a lawyer was anonymous and could not be admitted as evidence, even prima facie. The applicant had not filed any authorisation by his informers for their names to be disclosed for further investigation, Magistrate Sultana said. 

With regard to the application on alleged corruption in road works, the magistrate observed that while Azzoopardi had presented parts of a report by the auditor-general, it did not result that the auditor had found breaches of the criminal code and he had therefore made no report to the police.