Robert Abela invokes prescription to avoid investigation - Cassola

The Standards Commissioner had been asked to investigate the PM's purchase of Xewkija land

February 24, 2025| Times of Malta 1 min read
Prime Minister Robert Abela. File photo. Prime Minister Robert Abela. File photo.

The prime minister has invoked prescription to stop a Standards Commissioner investigation into his undeclared €180,000 utilised for the purchase of land in Xewkija, according to the Momentum party leader.

Arnold Cassola said Robert Abela had written to the commissioner, pointing to the prescription period and saying that respecting statutory terms constituted a matter of public order.  

The commissioner, Judge Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi, reluctantly gave up the investigation while commenting that the prescription period was too short and should be extended, Cassola, who had requested the investigation. 

"When a Prime Minister resorts to the prescription term to avoid being investigated for wrongdoing, this is the biggest admission that he has committed wrongdoing.

"Malta is really in a sorry state when its Prime Minister has to resort to the tactics of a criminal lawyer in court to avoid full transparency on his behaviour. In these five years, the lawyer Robert Abela has never understood what being a Prime Minister of all the people means," Cassola said. 

The commissioner's report in full can be seen in the PDF below. 

 

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