The Nationalist Party insisted this afternoon that the police should charge all those who were found to have corrupted Enemalta officials into giving them tampered electricity meters.
The Opposition's spokesman for justice, Beppe Fenech Adami at a press conference said the prime minister needed to 'come clean' on who he was defending when he decided that consumers who benefited from tampered meters would be spared court action if they paid for the stolen electricity, plus a fine.
Dr Fenech Adami said the PN was not interested in who these people were, but justice had to be done with everyone. The prime minister had no authority to give an amnesty for corruption, and Enemalta regulations provided a mechanism for out-of-court settlement only for theft of electricity.
"The prime minister is undermining the rule of law in an obscene manner", Dr Fenech Adami said.
It was up to the police to proceed on the corruption allegations and they should not receive orders on who to prosecute, Dr Fenech Adami insisted.
Whoever committed a crime should be taken to court and face the consequences.
However, it appeared that Dr Muscat had made a political calculation as he feared that court action could have a political price.
Nationalist MP George Pullicino, shadow minister for energy, also asked who the prime minister was defending. He asked whether there were people close to ministers in the secret list of consumers found to have stolen electricity.
He said that the people suspended by Enemalta but not arraigned are Louis Attard, Edward Camilleri, Arthur Pace, Alan Cachia and Anthony Mifsud.
Earlier today, Times of Malta reported that lawyers have questioned how legally possible it is to waive the criminal responsibility of consumers who bribed Enemalta officials to help them steal electricity, especially because the police had already started their investigations.
“Will the police drop the investigation altogether as if no crime had been committed?” a lawyer asked.
Lawyers who spoke on condition of anonymity argued that this amnesty is different to others, such as that on the payment of VAT penalties, as this case involves fraud, bribery and theft.
Another point that needed to be debated was whether these consumers could be considered admissible witnesses when the masterminds are arraigned, since they were accomplices in the crime.
"Could anyone invoke the Whistleblower's Act once the investigations were under way."
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Sunday that those consumers who came forward, paid for the stolen electricity and a fine, would not be taken to court. The fine would amount to 10 per cent of the amount of electricity stolen.
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