Assets of Clayton Bartolo, Amanda Muscat should be frozen following fresh MTA scandal - Repubblika

Civil Society NGO Repubblika President Vicki Ann Cremona called for Amanda Muscat and Clayton Bartolo's assets to be frozen, pending a police investigation into a fresh scandal regarding allegations surrounding Muscat and an alleged kickback from a Malta Tourism Authority deal.

Repubblika said that if the police do not investigate and prosecute former Minister Clayton Bartolo, his wife Amanda Muscat and Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri over the recent scandals, these being the kickback allegations and also the breach of ethics over Muscat's consultancy job, the organisation will be going to Court to keep pushing for justice.

Cremona and Repubblika's lawyer Jason Azzopardi held a press conference in front of the Police headquarters in Floriana, and again called for the immediate resignation of Camilleri over the ethics breach for granting Bartolo's wife a top-paid consultancy role in his Ministry, which she did not do.

Cremona said that on the "phantom job" scandal, there must be a criminal investigation, as well as an administrative inquiry to establish the responsibility of the government persons who abused their power and permitted this "theft."

Repubblika also called for the prosecution of Bartolo, Muscat, and Camilleri over this.

Regarding the kickback allegations, Cremona called for a criminal investigation with updates issued publicly by the police, explaining and justifying their investigation.

Repubblika also called for the police to prosecute those involved, Muscat, Bartolo and Valerio Agnoli, and for them to be charged with money laundering, and called for the freezing of assets of those involved.

Cremona said that an independent verification of the contracts and expenditure of the entities which Clayton Bartolo was responsible for must be conducted, as she said Repubblika doubts that his sense of responsibility and respect towards the public's money ever existed.

"Repubblika will keep insisting for justice," Cremona said, adding that Prime Minister Robert Abela's comments that Repubblika is an "extremist faction of the PN," are empty and childish words.

Cremona said Repubblika will not abdicate from its citizen right to ask for an investigation, and condemned Abela's intimidation.

Lawyer Azzopardi described the MTA scandal as a "text-book case of money laundering," and labelled it "embezzlement", saying that the Attorney General must immediately issue a freezing order against the two.

He made reference to the two criminal complaints he made on Repubblika's behalf, which asks the Police Commissioner to investigate the "corruption." Azzopardi said that the AG had replied to the recent complaint, and passed it on to the Police for investigation.

"What are the police waiting for?" he questioned, adding that in the same manner the AG and authorities react when a citizen is found to have done wrong, so should public officials who must set a standard, even more so.