Watch: Abela defends Refalo over Riina villa claims

Prime Minister Robert Abela has dismissed links between Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo and Sicilian mafia boss Totò Riina, claiming the minister provided documentation proving the property he leased had no connection to the mobster.

Abela insisted on Tuesday that the Nationalist Party should verify facts before "smearing" people, pointing to a 2002 lease agreement involving a PN candidate as evidence that Refalo had no connection with Riina.

"The PN administration allowed Riina to come in and out of the country freely and without restrictions between 1987 and 1993," Abela said.

"Nine years after Riina’s 1993 arrest, Anton Refalo leased the property, which does not belong to Totò Riina, but to an Italian woman. The property was administered by her legal representative who was then a PN candidate and Refalo leased it from him. That was in 2002."

The comments follow a confrontation between Refalo and Italian media, during which the minister claimed he did not know who the notorious "boss of bosses" was.

The controversy centres around claims that Riina, who was convicted in 1993 for numerous murders, was apparently a frequent visitor to Gozo from the 1980s.

The Italian media zoomed in on his connection with Refalo, especially Riina's alleged use of a seafront property in Gozo that the Labour minister currently leases.

Abela 'satisfied' with Refalo's defence

Abela told journalists on Tuesday evening that he had personally spoken to Refalo and reviewed documentation regarding the property.

He said the villa belongs to an Italian woman and was administered by her legal representative, Alfred Grech—a former PN candidate—from whom Refalo leased the property in 2002.

“What matters is that the timeline of facts clearly shows there is no connection between Totò Riina and the ownership of the property or its subsequent lease,” Abela said.

However, the Prime Minister stopped short of defending Refalo’s claim of ignorance regarding Riina's identity.

When asked if he believed the minister truly didn't know who the mafia boss was, Abela pivoted: “What I can tell you is that I know who Totò Riina was.”

He also said the current allegations were "decades-old speculations" and questioned why they were resurfacing now.