Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1526409
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 SEPTEMBER 2024 NEWS Byron Camilleri: 'I do not fear Byron Camilleri is in the midst of a storm over the scandal enveloping Identità, which is now subject to a magisterial inquiry, and allegations of abuse by top officials at the local enforcement agency, LESA. But the Home Affairs Minister insists wrongdoing will not be tolerated and tells Kurt Sansone all entities on his watch and himself are open to any scrutiny. Before July, ID cards and residency permits for foreigners were the official documents used to open bank accounts, register children at school, as proof when grandparents pick their grandchildren from school, or be presented to police during roadblocks… today trust in these official documents has been eroded because of a scandal that started with fraudulent residence permits and continued with suspected identity theft at hospital and other entities. Where are you minister in all this? […] Identità over the past months and years increased its checks and balances. It set up a compliance unit with the aim of carrying out continuous scruti- ny of the agency's processes and applications… the initial cases you refer to were linked to for- eign nationals who acquired residency permits from Identità after making false declarations that they were partners of other people who had residence per- mits. It was Identità, in writing, that reported these people to the police and some were arraigned and even sentenced to prison. If someone tries to imply that Iden- tità only acted because someone started speaking about the case, they are factually incorrect. It is a fact that Identità itself reported the cases and action was taken. This means we have an agency that does not allow abuse to go unchecked… the authority took and will continue to take meas- ures to strengthen its internal structures. There were other cas- es of [foreign] individuals who went to the Housing Authority and presented lease agreements that were false. Identità caught them and reported them to the police. But more importantly, Identità did not simply report these cases but also strengthened its structures and is now asking for notarised lease agreements. Identità is doing this because it wants to close any loopholes that may exist… Identità was proac- tive over the years to close any loopholes that can be abused by those with ill intent. But as a minister, where were you over the past couple of months? We have ended up in a situation where even if there is a genuine mistake, it is perceived as a sinister deed. If in the past, you would have received somebody else's mail on your address you would probably have thrown it away, assuming it was a mistake. Today, this is no longer the case. Every set of questions I received from the independent media, I replied to… Identità itself also re- plied to queries […] but if some- one received a letter or document from a private telecommuni- cations company [addressed to someone who never lived in the property], I don't think it is right to blame Identità… Iden- tità should and is shouldering its responsibilities and had started addressing concerns but if one particular company was sending letters to the wrong addresses, Identità is not to blame and it is the company's responsibility to strengthen its own internal veri- fication processes. Identità is now asking foreigners to present notarised lease agreements as proof of residency. But the Notarial Council has directed members not to cooperate. They have their own doubts. There was a consultation pro- cess that happened before. I be- lieve they should have consulted more and this is what they intend to do; there are meetings sched- uled for next week. But the aim is… But the doubts expressed by the Notarial Council are coming from somewhere. The aim is to strengthen the in- ternal system. The easiest thing to do is retain the status quo but Identità is continuously trying to strengthen its systems to ensure that if a person goes to it with a document, the agency would be in a position to verify its authen- ticity. The Notarial Council did issue directives but I gave Iden- tità direction to continue the consultation process. Everyone should agree that we must have structures that are strength- ened… with adequate checks and balances that can give peace of mind. This particular measure was implemented only after the scandal erupted. Other measures were imple- mented before. Identità intro- duced inspections on the street, at work places and various resi- dences to verify that claims made in residency applications are true. Whenever Identità officials carrying out inspections detected abuse they reported it. I do not agree that decisions started being taken now. Decisions have only continued being taken… and at every stage we have improved the checks and balances. Identità has shown willingness to strengthen its internal structures. Identità has said that it carried out internal reviews and flagged the abuse itself. What we know of is the case involving three Egyptian men… But if these men presented false documents, I presume that someone at Identità would have verified these documents, which means that someone at the agency was in cahoots with them. Identità did reply to media questions but it never said whether its own officials were involved. Did the internal probe flag wrongdoing by Identità officials and if so what action was taken against them? Identità reported its findings to the police. There were more than three cases. But it also reported a person, who in the past used to work at the agency… When did Identità report this official? Several months ago, and well before any allegations of wrong- doing appeared in the media. Al- legations on social media started appearing after criminal action had been taken against several individuals. You are asking me, why we did not inform the pub- lic about this when action was taken. I can understand your ar- gument, you are a journalist, but as an agency, and as a minister, if there is a red light on some- one my aim is to ensure justice is done. Even if I communicate vaguely in public I may be giv- ing away information that could benefit those who are abusing… our silence was well-intentioned to ensure abusers are caught and justice prevailed.