Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/576901
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 27 SEPTEMBER 2015 News 3 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 A Mellie- ha resident had later corroborated claims of identity theft, when she told The Times that a foreigner had successfully applied for a residency permit using her address. The resi- dent had received a letter from the Department of Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs addressed to a foreign man claiming to live in her property, that he had been granted a residency card. The letter had been to her secondary residence in Swieqi. "I come and go between the two properties I own... It's very unsettling to think someone stole a part of my identity so easily," she had told the newspaper. Identity Malta in a reaction had then declared that it had changed procedure on the granting of resi- dence permits because of the theft of addresses. It said that it had launched an immediate investi- gation in August 2014 upon re- ceiving a report of identity theft, and claimed that the situation arose because of a shortcoming in the procedure which has been in place for a number of years. MaltaToday understands that foreign nationals in Malta require an e-residence card to able to ob- tain a work permit. At times, the poorest categories will submit any address in a bid to obtain the cru- cial identity card which is neces- sary for them to work. Identity Malta 'racket' Earlier this week, the govern- ment announced that police in- vestigators had discovered a rack- et in the issuance of residence permits that had been "ongoing for a number of years". The racket is unconnected to the way identity cards are issued on addresses declared by their bearers, who are criminally liable when they give a false address. On Wednesday police from the Economic Crimes Unit led a raid at the office of Identity Malta, ar- resting a number of people for interrogation. The investigation was initiated upon information received by the government and passed on to the Security Service. The government said the racket had been going on since 2010. "It turns out that this racket, in its various forms, has been ongoing for several years and investiga- tions are now taking place into other cases. The government is taking this abuse seriously," the Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement. On his part, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said the police raid was "a huge scandalous affair, proof of institutionalised corrup- tion" within government. "14,000 residence permits were issued to foreigners in 2014 alone… as much as Malta has re- ceived migrants in 10 years. It is an extremely serious problem and an independent inquiry must be immediately set up. People are no longer trusting the system or Identity Malta," he said. L-Ewwel - - - Post : L-Ghammieri, Marsa Hin : 10am-5pm Il-Hadd 4 t'Ottubru - Il-Hadd 4 t'Ottubru VARJETA' - IKEL U XORB - DOG WALK - TBERIK TAL-ANNIMALI - DIVERTIMENT GROOMING - ESEBIZZJONIJIET B'DIVERSI ANNIMALI - INFORMAZZJONI KLIEB GHALL-ADDOZZJONI - KIDS AREA Festa tal-Annimali T 'Dead letter' bar that houses 26 residents Spokesperson refutes questions over minister's disapproval of MFSA spend MATTHEW VELLA A decision by the financial regulator to finance works on the San Anton Palace, the stately home of the Presi- dent of the Republic, was met with little support from the finance min- ister. Edward Scicluna has reportedly refused to endorse the Malta Finan- cial Services Authority's decision to finance a €1 million, long-term restoration project for the historical rooms at the Palace, formerly used as offices for the President of the Republic. The plans include a library and exhibition hall for the promotion of Maltese literature and on Grand Master Emanuel de Rohan – the last head of the Order of St John to hold sway over Malta before the arrival of the French. But a spokesperson for Scicluna has refused to take MaltaToday's request for a comment to the min- ister, specifically to learn as to why Scicluna does not approve of the MFSA's decision to finance the San Anton restoration. Over the past month, Scicluna's spokesperson refused three times to give MaltaToday an answer since first making its request for comment on 22 August. Earlier this week, spokesperson Sandro Mangion held the gate shut tight, saying he "would not take this question to the minis- ter". MaltaToday put it to Mangion that Scicluna was not supportive of the MFSA's decision, and that, instead, the MFSA chairman sought Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's endorse- ment. "The MFSA is an independent authority and the minister will not go into its operations," Mangion in- sisted. When contacted, MFSA chairman Prof. Joseph Bannister confirmed that the decision, taken by the board of governors, had been endorsed by Muscat. When asked whether this money would be better spent in other activ- ities of the MFSA, such as its regular inspections of companies, Bannister was adamant that the spend was part of the regulator's corporate so- cial responsibility policy. "We will be reimbursing the Office of the President's annual cost to re- store these rooms. It is an ambitious endeavour. And we only do this in case of real surpluses," Bannister said. He also claimed he was not in- formed of Edward Scicluna's ap- parent opposition to the MFSA's spending priorities, since the law regulating the authority states that its surplus must be passed on to the consolidated fund. "The prime minister endorsed the project as long as it is in the national interest," Bannister. "The €1 million spend is over a long term, so it won't be affecting our operations." For sale: 1, Marsa Road, has been closed for years but hosts a score of foreign nationals who could have possibly not yet had a fixed placed of residence but needed their e-residence card for work purposes These mobile phone snaps list the 26 individuals all registered under 1, Marsa Road