NGOs call for public inquiry into alleged benefits fraud cover-up
Allegations that officials in the police and the government knew about the social benefits fraud and attempted to cover it up are extremely serious and warrant a public inquiry to discover the whole truth, Repubblika President Vicki Ann Cremona said
Allegations that officials in the police and the government knew about the social benefits fraud and attempted to cover it up are extremely serious and warrant a public inquiry to discover the whole truth, Repubblika President Vicki Ann Cremona said during a press conference outside Castille on Thursday morning.
Cremona said that Repubblika and other NGOs are requesting that a public inquiry is opened by Prime Minister Robert Abela in order to investigate everything that the public authorities did after the benefits abuse became known and unearth if there were attempts to misdirect investigations so that the abuse would remain hidden.
She was referring to allegations made by Roger Agius, who was previously employed as Parliamentary Secretary Andy Ellul’s driver. Agius had said during an interview on RTK that police and politicians were involved in a cover up related to the benefits scandal, where he alleged that the police passed on information to the relevant ministers regarding what Agius had been revealing. Agius also said that the Office of the Prime Minister had told him that he would not be taken to court if he were to fire his lawyer, Jason Azzopardi.
The Repubblika President said that although there are those who are accused of having pocketed money in this case, the central motivation of the scheme seems to have been that of electoral fraud, “the buying of votes for the Labour Party with the people’s money”.
She said that the social benefits fraud has been calculated to have cost the Maltese and Gozitan people over €10 million, which was paid out to between 400 to 500 people since 2019. She added that despite the Prime Minister knowing that former Labour MP Silvio Grixti had been accused of playing a part in the scheme and was being investigated for money laundering, fraud, and falsifying documents, he still allowed Grixti to stay on as a consultant within the OPM, Transport Malta, and the Ministry for Health.
Repubblika said that following the conference, a letter addressed to the Prime Minister would be deposited at Castille.
Cremona read out the contents of this letter, which spoke about the grave allegations made which indicate that the corruption and abuse of power are not just the misguided actions of an individual, but that it appears the mechanisms of the state have been manipulated so that such abuse is hidden.
The letter continues by saying that the allegations of a cover-up and collusion by people who occupy public and police positions are so worrying that a number of NGOs are prepared to say that this situation is more serious than the abuse itself. “The silence and lack of decisive action from the government regarding these allegations of a cover up strengthens our preoccupation.”
Repubblika said that this situation is so serious that it merits a public inquiry, and added that only such an inquiry can produce appropriate results. Cremona remarked that if there has been a cover-up, a public inquiry would reveal who fell short, and who was involved. She added that if who is making these serious allegations is lying, then they would be proven false.
“The Maltese people have a right to a clean administration and to the whole truth. The Prime Minister has an obligation to observe democracy and defend the interests of the people, irrespective of who it was that fell short and betrayed the faith they were entrusted with,” she said.
Cremona concluded by saying that the Maltese people have a right to a clean administration and to the whole truth, and added that the Prime Minister has an obligation to observe democracy and defend the interests of the people, “irrespective of who it was that fell short and betrayed the faith they were given”.
Aditus, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, Moviment Graffiti, Kopin, Occupy Justice, UHM Voice of the Workers, and KSU all signed the letter to the Prime Minister along with Repubblika.
Repubblika also spoke about the matter of an individual being given whistleblower status in Malta. Cremona said that Agius had asked for whistleblower status, but was ignored. She said that Repubblika published a detailed study where the NGO argued for necessary changes needed for the whistleblower law to function.
The NGO said that it insists that the fight against corruption needs the collaboration of whistleblowers, who should be given every necessary protection. It said that it is not acceptable that the government chooses whether someone is given protection as a whistleblower through officials who were appointed by Ministers.
“Aside from that, we do not have any laws that clearly criminalise the obstruction of justice and the abuse of power, despite the Daphne Caruana Galizia Inquiry having recommended this in July of 2021, three years ago,” Cremona said.
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