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MT 11 May 2017

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3 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The money, the FIAU said, was paid in two separate pay- ments of €50,000 shortly af- ter Willerby Trade – the BVI company owned by Tonna – received €166,831 in fees from three Russian applicants for Maltese citizenship. The two have claimed that the transfers were repayments for a €100,000 loan given to Tonna by Schembri in 2012 however the FIAU could not trace the original loan trans- action when it carried out a review of Schembri's Pilatus Bank accounts. Despite this, Muscat in- sisted that the "crucial point" were the allegations being made about him. "Allegations were made that said I had taken money, or owned a se- cret company or that my wife and I somehow siphoned off funds," said Muscat. "This is a complete lie which ultimately precipitated this election and which has caused the Euro- pean Parliament to ask me to testify. An absolute lie." Muscat went on to say that in France, similar accusations were levelled at newly elected president Emanuel Macron, yet the documents were shown to be false. "Similar lies were made without any proof and it was said that since there was no evidence, nothing could be done. In my case, there is a witch hunt based on a false piece of evidence – if this ever existed – and papers from du- bious sources," he added. Muscat said he was looking forward to the publication of inquiring magistrate Aaron Bugeja's report, adding that he was serene about it since he knew the whole truth. "The whole point is that I will take responsibility for my actions if the magistrate says I have one any of the things I am being accused of. I will leave there and then. The leader of the opposition has not made the same pledge. He is basing his political career on a lie and I would expect him to resign when the report is published, no matter what his role is." maltatoday, THURSDAY, 11 MAY 2017 News PORTOMASOLIVE.COM REGISTER NOW 1 2 3 Register your personal account JOIN DEPOSIT EARN CASHBACK Place your deposit, play & participate in our promotions You're always a winner at Portomaso Live You're always a winner 'I will take responsibility for my actions' Prime Minister to sue Matthew Caruana Galizia for libel MATTHEW VELLA PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat has said he will file a defamation case against Matthew Caruana Galizia, the ICIJ journalist and son of Malta Independent column- ist Daphne Caruana Galizia, over a series of Facebook posts that suggest Muscat took kickbacks on the sale of Maltese passports. In a Facebook post detail- ing the use of an offshore company by Nexia BT man- aging partner Brian Tonna to receive fees from the sale of IIP passports, Caruana Galizia suggested that the prime minister would act as introducer of potential cli- ents, and that his own off- shore company invoice Ton- na's offshore company for a cut on the fees. The hypothesis used by Caruana Galizia, one of the journalists who worked on the Panama Papers for the ICIJ, carried little nuance on his suggestion of how the prime minister stood to gain from the kickback. "What the contract hides is that both of the compa- nies are owned by Brian Tonna," he said referring to Tonna's BVI company Will- erby Trade Inc, which was revealed by the Panama Pa- pers of taking 50% in fees from successful IIP appli- cants from Tonna's own BT International, an accredited agent of the IIP. "This is how money laun- dering works: Joseph Muscat or Keith Schembri introduce a passport buyer to Brian Tonna or Karl Cini; the pass- port is sold and the buyer pays a fee to Brian Tonna's company, BT International Limited; Willerby Trade Inc issues a fake invoice to BT International Limited for 50% of that fee; the money is paid into a secret bank account opened by Brian Tonna; offshore companies owned by Keith Schembri and Joseph Muscat invoice Willerby Trade Inc for their cut; the cut is transferred to other secret bank accounts opened in their names." Caruana Galizia uploaded emails and documents re- leased through the Panama Papers of the Willerby-BT International agreement. Earlier in the day, Muscat said that the journalist had alleged that he had taken kickbacks and invented a story about him, and now he must face his responsi- bilities. "I will not accept this," Muscat said during a press conference Wednesday morning. "For the record, since there are rumours f ly- ing around, neither me nor my wife have any interest in a fashion company and we are not building another house." The same allegation is al- ready under inquiry by a magistrate, after contents of a report by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit made their way to Opposi- tion leader Simon Busuttil. According to the FIAU, Ton- na could have paid the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri €100,000 through Willerby Trade Inc. shortly after receiving payment from three successful Rus- sian applicants for the IIP. Tonna and Schembri denied allegations of a kickback, and insist that the payment was for a 2012 loan. Joseph Muscat has already asked a magistrate to carry out an inquiry into allega- tions by Daphne Caruana Galizia that he or his wife could be the owner of a se- cret offshore company. Muscat went on to say that in France, similar accusations were levelled at newly elected president Emanuel Macron, yet the documents were shown to be false

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