The prime minister and the minister of finance have not distanced themselves from the shocking revelation that Enemalta decided to absorb millions in tax due by the Electrogas consortium, the Nationalist Party said on Sunday.

The party noted how last week, during a hearing of the public inquiry on the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, Alfred Camilleri, permanent secretary at the Finance Ministry explained how Enemalta had absorbed €5m in excise duties due from Electrogas.

This was a violation of the original terms of the tender document , and it was calculated that through the term of the contract, the amount of tax would run up to €40million.

The decision was taken following intervention by then minister Konrad Mizzi while Robert Abela was a consultant to the government and Edward Scicluna was finance minister. 

Had Abela and Scicluna disagreed with the decision they would have denied their involvement, the PN said.

One, however, could not have expected the finance minister to abdicate his responsibilities for tax collection, allowing Konrad Mizzi to decide on excise duty instead.

"The silence by Robert Abela and Edward Scicluna makes them accomplices in a scandalous decision which has robbed the people of €40 million simply to make Electrogas more profitable," the PN said. 

The statement was signed by shadow minister Mario de Marco, Claudio Grech and Ryan Callus.