[WATCH] Prime Minister: 'Allegations of bribery always passed on to police for investigation'

Joseph Muscat says he always went to the police whenever he received allegations of abuse: 'The Opposition should do the same'

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat rebutted allegations by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat rebutted allegations by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil
Joseph Muscat: ‘No problem in pushing for further investigation’ • Video by Chris Mangion

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has rebutted allegations by Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, insisting that whenever allegations of abused were raised he always passed on the information to the police.

The Opposition has accused the government of ignoring allegations of bribery surrounding the issuance of medical visas to Libyan nationals.

"Whenever I learned of abuse I always passed it on to police ... I will certainly not act like Simon Busuttil and leak information from the security committee," Muscat told journalists.

The comment prompted a reaction by Busuttil on Twitter, who said that his "duty as a member of the Security Committee is not to be part of a cover-up on the medical visas bribery scandal".

Both leaders were referring to a security committee meeting held in September of last year. The meeting had been convened by the Prime Minister following the arraignment of auditor Joe Sammut. Sammut was arraigned in August 2015 on a host of charges relating to money laundering, fraud, misappropriation and forgery. He had previously been granted police bail after being held for questioning over allegations of aiding Libyan nationals obtain a residency permit by creating fake companies. He was questioned at length by the Economic Crimes Unit over the registration of hundreds of Libyan companies in Malta.

Last week, Busuttil recounted how he had rasied allegations of corruption in the issuance of medical visas during the 2015 meeting. Following that meeting, the PN leader had addressed reporters outside Auberge de Castille and called for a  public inquiry into the granting of visas.

The Prime Minister said the Labour administration had found "a total disaster" and all measures had and are being taken to continue addressing the issue.

The government has embarked on projects with the private health sector to turn Malta into a medical tourism destination.

"We are taking these allegations seriously ... At the same time, we will continue working to attract medical tourism. Mater Dei Hospital is now a full-time hospital working overtime to deliver services to its patients. If the Opposition has further allegations, it should pass them on to the police. We absolutely have no problem in pushing for further investigation," he said.