The government and the Labour Party have both been worryingly silent on allegations that a former PL candidate and party accountant was involved in a fraudulent residence scam, Nationalist Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami said today.
Addressing a press conference, Dr Fenech Adami questioned why the Prime Minister, the Home Affairs Minister and the Labour Party executive had all not reacted to allegations that some 800 companies had been fraudulently set up through Mr Sammut as part of a residence scam for hundreds of foreigners.
"I would have expected a denial or a reaction of some kind from the government as well as the Labour Party," Dr Fenech Adami said.
Dr Sammut was arraigned in court yesterday to face charges of fraud.
Dr Fenech Adami described the allegations as having revealed "institutionalised corruption" which showed the country was "caught in a net of corruption".
"We have a situation where people close to the government and Labour Party are involved in cases of corruption," he said, also referring to the Gaffarena and Zammit scandals. He asked who else was involved in the latest scandal.
Replying to questions, Dr Fenech Adami said one had a situation where a person close to the government has potentially jeopardized the credibility of two major institutions in the island - the MFSA's Registry of Companies and Identity Malta, and the government have said nothing.
"Why have they don't spoken out about this?" Dr Fenech Adami asked.
He observed that these residence permits were issued mostly to Libyans through Mr Sammut, who had ties to the Gadaffi family.
He later questioned where, in light of this scandal, did the Labour Party get its financing for its electoral campaign from.
"Anyone involved in elections knows how much campaigns like that cost," he said.
Alex Perici Calascione meanwhile said the companies had a collective share capital in assets worth €80 million, which highlighted the gravity of the allegations.
He also echoed the calls made by Dr Fenech Adami for the government and Labour Party to react to the allegations.
Asked by the Labour Party media what the Nationalist Party had done when this happened under its watch, Dr Fenech Adami said this was incorrect as the vast majority of companies had been set up in recent months.
"Dr Sammut found all the doors open when he was doing this in recent months," he said.
Claudio Grech on the other hand raised concerns about the impact the allegations would have on the county's reputation.
He said the island depended heavily on foreign investment from companies based overseas, and allegations like this could leave many thinking twice before moving to the island.
PL REACTION
In a reaction the Labour Party said the PN was being negative with tactics of the past.
It said it was proud that the government and the authorities had taken the necessary actions independently of who was involvement.
The PN would do well to take a careful look around itself and also consider what Jason Azzopardi had said about dirty politics, the PL said.