The former police economic crimes unit chief, Ian Abdilla, told the Caruana Galizia public inquiry on Wednesday that four years since the Panama Papers scandal broke out, he would have handled matters differently. 

“At that time, none of us had the audacity to take certain decisions. Today I would kickstart an inquiry there and then, appoint officers and make a move. But back then [2016] it was a first,” said Abdilla, as another two-hour long grilling drew to an end. 

“Criticise us as much as you like. Maybe we took the wrong decisions back then,” he said, as questions were fired by all three judges on the board, seemingly perplexed by the fact that the police had not acted immediately upon a first letter by the FIAU advising them to “seize computers and servers from Nexia BT” and from Castille too.

That advice had been based on an initial document, “a collection of press cuttings,” handed over by former FIAU Chief Manfred Galdes to former police commissioner Michael Cassar.

Yet, the police had not taken immediate action, drawing assurance from advice by the Attorney General to exercise great caution, for various legal reasons, which could also land the corps facing civil lawsuits for damages by Nexia BT, Abdilla explained. 

“With our limited resources at the time and limited funding, we could not investigate the Panama Papers too,” Abdilla went on. “But that did not mean that nothing was done. Besides, I had peace of mind that tax authorities with more competent means and resources were investigating.”

However, the Board was evidently not satisfied with that explanation. 

“You had a prima facie case of money laundering. It’s for the police to investigate, rather than wait for a magisterial inquiry,” pointed out former Mr Justice Michael Mallia, reading further from the police file a memo written by Abdilla himself, declaring that “the information requested might be deleted, or encrypted or might not exist.”

“You had to look for it first! Rather than let it slip away! Judge Mallia observed rather heatedly. “I never knew police to act in this way!”

But Abdilla insisted that the decision to hold back had been taken at the time by himself, deputy commissioner Silvio Valletta and former Commissioner Lawrence Cutajar, explaining that all three had been rather inexperienced in the field of economic crimes at the time.

“It was a conscious decision after we got the AG’s advice and feedback of inspectors.”

“So, do you assume responsibility for that decision?” Judge Mallia pressed further.

“It was part of our work,” Abdilla replied, somewhat resignedly. “We just decided on the best course of action, knowing that the FIAU was to produce conclusive reports within months.”

“I would have gone for them [computers and servers] at once!” retorted Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro.

“With the benefit of hindsight, we would have taken a different course of action had we known what was coming,” the assistant commissioner insisted. 

Besides, police needed to get concrete evidence that money was actually transferred to the offshore companies opened by Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi from 17 Black and Macbridge.

“Follow the money” is the rule to go by, he said, adding that it would have likely proved inconclusive to summon the persons concerned before that was ascertained. 

“Identifying the attempt is enough. No need to prove it,” lawyer Jason Azzopardi intervened. “With all the information you had from FIAU, not just newspaper reports, wasn’t there enough suspicion?”

“Yes. That [FIAU advice] was like a preview, a trailer to a movie,” Abdilla said.

“To a blockbuster!” the lawyer promptly retorted. 

“Was it possible that the AG’s advice was reaching Castille,” Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino asked. “Can you exclude that?”

“I have no idea,” Abdilla replied, as the Judge probed further about the possibility that such advice linked to the police investigations could have reached the persons who were directly involved. 

“I can’t exclude that,” came the reply.

“So in spite of being aware of the possibility that evidence would be compromised, you voluntarily and consciously decided to accommodate persons of interest [to the police],” Judge Mallia pointed out.

“Our decision was to wait.”

The assistant commissioner will return to the public inquiry on Friday for a further round of questioning.

Lawyers Therese Comodini Cachia and Jason Azzopardi appeared on behalf of the Caruana Galizia family.

Profs Ian Refalo assisted Abdilla.