Arnold Cassola said on Thursday the European Public Prosecutor's Office was investigating the Marsa Junction project after being summoned by local police to elaborate on “first-hand evidence” of corruption.

On Saturday, the independent candidate said he had presented the police commissioner with email and WhatsApp chat conversations between major players involved in the multi-million euro project.

Cassola had said at least two “well-known personalities” are involved.

But the following day, former Infrastructure Malta boss Fredrick Azzopardi insisted he had nothing to hide. He told Times of Malta the tendering process for the project preceded his appointment at the infrastructure agency and that the text messages referred to were related to invoicing.

On Thursday Cassola said that he had been summoned to the Financial Crime Unit offices in Santa Venera.   

He said on Wednesday police officers had been asked by the EPPO to ask him "two specific questions" about documentation he had presented concerning the WhatsApp and email messages that he had handed over to the police authorities.    

"I was also asked if I had anything new to add. Something which I did, and then I confirmed my statement by signing it," he added in a statement. 

On October 2, Times of Malta reported that evidence of potential corruption in a €40 million Marsa flyover contract had attracted the attention of EU anti-fraud prosecutors.

Phone data had revealed murder suspect Yorgen Fenech’s background role as a middleman in the project, against the promise of €2 million in “success fees”, half of which were planned to be funnelled to a secret offshore company linked to 17 Black.

Ayhanlar, the Turkish contractor represented by Fenech who won the 2018 tender to build the flyover, was crippled by financial trouble just weeks into being awarded the contract.

Billionaire Robert Yildirim, whose global group runs the Malta Freeport Terminals, insinuated in an e-mail exchange with Fenech that “bribing” could have played a role in the Tumas magnate’s efforts to help Ayhanlar secure the contract.