Ryan Spagnol is suing Jason Azzopardi over allegations that the cabinet secretary solicited bribes in exchange for residence permits. 

Over the past days, the former PN MP has uploaded a series of posts on Facebook claiming that Spagnol, once responsible for residence permits at Identity Malta, was part of a racket that issued ID cards in a short period in exchange for cash.

On Friday, through a government statement, Spagnol said he had filed libel proceedings through his lawyer Chris Cilia. 

He "publicly and immediately" denied "all sorts of allegations or insinuations", while urging for the proceedings to "clear his name as soon as possible".

The court, he said, was being asked to hear and decide the case with urgency. 

Reacting to the libel proceedings, Azzopardi again took to Facebook to warn Spagnol that by suing him, he had opened a Pandora's Box.

"Bravo. Well done. Welcome... we will meet," the former MP wrote.