Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday he was convinced that former minister Chris Cardona would take the necessary decisions in the coming days about his role as Labour deputy leader.

Cardona’s name has cropped up on several occasions in recent weeks in connection with the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder plot.

Questioned about Cardona’s fate during an interview on ONE TV, Abela said he was convinced Cardona would do everything necessary to safeguard Labour’s good name. 

Cardona resigned as an MP in April but decided to stay on as Labour’s deputy leader. 

He has vehemently denied having anything to do with the October 2017 assassination of Caruana Galizia. Cardona insisted during an interview with Times of Malta that he saw no reason to resign as deputy leader, as the allegations about his involvement in the murder were an attempt to frame him.

Abela expressed his satisfaction that the compilation of evidence against the four people accused of carrying out the plot was proceeding at a good pace. 

The prime minister said he expected every single avenue of investigation to be followed-up. 

With Malta facing a potential grey-listing for its failures to combat financial crimes, Abela said he was not satisfied with the amount of money-laundering prosecutions.

Abela said there needed to be a strong effort in this area, as it was useless having the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit carry out a good investigation that was then passed on to the police and not followed up on. 

Former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and former minister Konrad Mizzi have both featured in FIAU reports that were sent to the police for investigation. 

The prime minister said he was convinced that Police Commissioner nominee Angelo Gafa focus on the fight against financial crime, having led such investigations in the past. 

Abela said prosecutions should take place regardless of who was involved in the crime.