Robert Aquilina claims police wanted him to name his sources for Pilatus book
Former head of Republikka says he was interrogated about the book on Tuesday
Notary Robert Aquilina has claimed police interrogated him on Tuesday with the "sole aim" of trying to find out who his sources were for a book he wrote on the Pilatus Bank scandal two years ago.
The former head of rule of law NGO Republikka, who resigned this week following domestic violence allegations, said he was questioned at police headquarters.
"The sole aim of the police was to discover who the sources were that enabled me to uncover what the inquiry into Pilatus Bank found, and the manoeuvres by the Police Commissioner and Attorney General to ignore the inquirying Magistrate's orders and avoid prosecuting the criminals who used our country name to launder dirty money," he said in a statement.
Aquilina published his book Pilatus: A laundromat bank in Europe in 2023 detailing the money laundering scandal linked to the now-shuttered bank.
In January, a magistrate ordered the police to investigate how Aquilina obtained the inquiry report about the bank. This led the NGO to unsuccessfully challenge the authorities' decision not to prosecute the bank’s top officials.
"I gave no information about these sources and exercised my right to protect their identity," Aquilina said. "It is highly significant that, during the interrogation, the police confirmed that the evidence I published in the book and presented in court, matches the original inquiry's findings. This is another confirmation, this time from the police themselves, that there is nothing in Pilatus [the book] but the truth."
In 2021 the FIAU fined Pilatus a record €4.9 million for a “serious and systemic failure” to follow anti-money laundering laws.