A police investigation into claims that former Labour Party general secretary Jimmy Magro had sought kickbacks remains pending nearly three years since the case was flagged by the corruption watchdog.

Questions sent by Times of Malta to the police asking if the investigation had been concluded, and if anybody would be charged in connection with the case, remained unanswered.

In February 2017, the Permanent Commission Against Corruption had expressed itself as “morally convinced’ that Mr Magro, a former Local Councils Association executive secretary, had requested a cut of €25,000 in return for awarding a tender.

Though it had pointed out it had no evidence that any money had exchanged hands, the commission said it was referring the matter to the police as it was nonetheless a case of attempted bribery. The crime had allegedly taken place in the summer of 2014 when Mr Magro, who at the time was on the books of State investment arm Malta Enterprise, was serving as a consultant to the Local Councils Association.

A case of attempted bribery

Concerns that the case had been relegated to the back burner started to emerge a few months after the launch of police investigation as there had been no further developments.

In January last year, the police had told Times of Malta they were awaiting replies from foreign jurisdictions before proceeding to interrogate the main suspects.

They had pointed out that the level of proof they had to reach in an investigation before proceeding to criminal prosecution was “higher” than that which the Commission was obliged to obtain.

However, the lack of progress in the case was back under the spotlight last year when Opposition MP Simon Busuttil raised the matter through a parliamentary question. In a terse reply, Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia said the case was being “actively” investigated by the economic crimes unit of the police.

The lack of progress on the case has raised concerns on the Opposition benches amid claims that the police were having cold feet to prosecute Mr Magro in view of his political background.

In a Facebook post, PN MP Jason Azzopardi recently claimed the government had “instructed” the police to put the case on hold, in order for the case to become time-barred so that Mr Magro would not be liable to prosecution.

In its report on the rule of law in Malta issued last year, the group of Council of Europe experts, known as the Venice Commission called for a reform in the appointment of the police commissioner, as under the present system the candidate is handpicked by the prime minister.

It is important that in a democratic society the police force be perceived as politically neutral in the service of the State and the professional, unbiased, enforcement of the law and the protection of the citizen, the experts had said.