Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1525500
7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 AUGUST 2024 identities, bribery and debauchery ried to the accused. She did not even know who he was. But the case got more compli- cated when the magistrate pre- siding over proceedings, Kevan Azzopardi, ordered the police to investigate two Identità officials over possible perjury after they gave contradicting testimony. Chief information officer Ste- fano Rodoligo had testified that he had asked an official from the Expats section at Identità to search for Darwish's file in the agency's archives. Rodoligo told the court that Isaac Micallef, from the Expats section, had personally taken the requested file to his office. The file contained documentation re- lated to the accused's application for a permit as a non-EU family member. However, Micallef had earlier told the court that he found no trace of the file on the agency sys- tem or in the archives. The case against Darwish is on- going. Two other Egyptian nationals who were charged separately on similar crimes had pleaded guilty and were jailed six months each. The timing of the Egyptian's residency permit (March 2023) indicates that the scam at Iden- tità continued even after Marija Spiteri no longer worked there, suggesting that more people from within the agency were involved. Identità coy on wrongdoing by officials Meanwhile, Identità had said the case against "some individ- uals" had been flagged by them following internal checks and passed on to the police. However, the agency has re- mained coy about the much bigger implication that ID cards were being issued fraudulently to foreign nationals as part of a cor- ruption ring involving officials on the inside. When asked by MaltaToday whether its internal reviews had flagged wrongdoing by Identità officials, the agency only said that it is cooperating with the police without confirming or denying the claim. It remains unclear whether the police are investigating any for- mer or current Identità employ- ees and officials. Sources privy to the workings of Identità have told MaltaTo- day that the agency has long been aware of the 'fake identity cards' but dispute the number is as high as is being claimed. The sources said the female of- ficial who no longer works at the agency had the blessing of a high official at Identity Malta, as it was known then before rebranding. The high official no longer works there. In his sworn application, Azzo- pardi went as far as claiming that an unnamed source informed him of debauched parties alleg- edly "organised by a Colombian woman named Rosario" at a vil- la in Wardija, and apartments in Mellieħa and St Julian's. Cocaine and prostitutes would be avail- able at these parties and the or- ganiser would boast of the ease with which she would obtain work permits for the prostitutes she employed. Azzopardi alleged that MPs from both sides of the House, ministers, doctors, lawyers and government officials would at- tend these parties. The former MP claimed that Bernard Attard is one of the names that 'Rosario' allegedly mentioned to Azzopardi's source as a link for obtaining residency permits for the prostitutes she employed. Meanwhile, Azzopardi's re- quest for a magisterial inquiry has been upheld and on Tuesday a magistrate will be drawn by lot and assigned to the inquiry. But in the latest twist to the ongoing saga, Azzopardi said he has been approached by several people who allege that their iden- tities have been stolen outright and used to obtain hospital treat- ment. These people have received ap- pointments from Mater Dei Hos- pital for treatments and surgery they do not need and have nev- er sought medical assistance for. The implication is that someone must have used their identity to access the public healthcare sys- tem. It remains unclear how many of these 'wrong' appointments have been issued to unsuspecting individuals but the development provides a new, worrying angle to the Identità conundrum.