Opposition leader Adrian Delia said he would call on the police to investigate Nexia BT’s Karl Cini if the government did not do so within 48 hours.  

Dr Delia gave the two-day ultimatum during a political speech at the Nationalist Party club in Tarxien.  

Referring to the recently published 1,500-page Egrant Inquiry, Dr Delia said inquiring magistrate Aaron Bugeja had concluded that Mr Cini, a partner of the auditing firm, ought to be investigated by the police for perjury.

Dr Delia told party supporters that he had instructed his legal advisors to call on the police to investigate Mr Cini, but only if the government did not do so itself by Tuesday.  

The Opposition leader said the government had known about Magistrate Bugeja’s conclusions for several months, yet it appeared as though no police investigation had been carried out.  

The Egrant inquiry was published last month after Dr Delia was finally handed a copy following a months-long legal battle. 

Magistrate Bugeja had ordered probes into Mr Cini for perjury, Egrant whistleblower Maria Efimova for calumny and Pilatus Bank’s operations for money laundering.  

These conclusions, which were never published by the government, also order an investigation into who falsified and distributed documents linking the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s wife Michelle to Egrant. 

Now-Judge Bugeja also saw the need for a police investigation into a proposed offshore structure to promote and manage investment between Malta and China.

The inquiry never established who owns the secret company Egrant and found no evidence to support claims that it was owned by the Muscat family. 

Looking back over what he said had been a difficult year for the country, Dr Delia said what was meant to be “the best of times”, had turned out to be the worst of times.  

Dr Delia said the government had pledged to deliver clean energy through a new power station, but this had turned out to be the dirtiest project possible. 

“They didn’t deliver clean energy but dirt, corruption, and the murder of a journalist,” he said. 

The government had spent its time in office, ensuring that those close to the Labour Party did well, while others fell by the wayside. 

Dr Delia said he had been mocked by some when he had first said that the country was not in a state of normality.  

Now the President, newspaper editorials, and even Labour Party leadership candidates conceded that the situation in Malta was not normal.  

Delia targets Labour leadership hopefuls 

Turning to PL leadership hopeful Chris Fearne, Dr Delia took umbrage at comments made by the deputy prime minister that Dr Delia ought to be himself investigated. 

Dr Delia said he had nothing to hide and urged Mr Fearne to request the police investigate him.  

“Report me to the police commissioner, what are you waiting for? I am not corrupt, I am not a money launderer, and I have nothing to hide,” he said.  

As for Cabinet advisor Robert Abela - the other horse in the PL leadership race – Dr Delia said that although not a deputy to Dr Muscat, Dr Abela was a consultant of the most corrupt prime minister Malta had ever seen. 

Dr Delia said the government had called an early recess for Parliament, and in the meantime, the country was left in the dark over the island’s spiralling reputation. 

No one in the government had “the decency” to apologise for the current situation either, he said. 

The Nationalist Party on the other hand, was pledging to give power back to the people. 

Dr Delia said he believed in “big society and little government”. 

“We want to be the vehicle to serve the people,” he said.