PN hits out at Labour officials on State payroll, PL wants party financing probe

The Nationalist Party has hit back at accusations of having flouted party financing rules, by accusing the Labour government of providing government jobs to its own party employees and executives.

“This is the real pay scandal,” the PN said. “Individuals who work with the Labour Party and One Productions, whose salary actually comes out of the government coffers, from taxpayers money. Joseph Muscat should say whether this is indeded fraud or money laundering.”

The beneficiaries of the salaries included former deputy leader Toni Abela (now judged) who was paid to act as a consultant to several ministries, Labour executive committee secretary Lydia Abela, international secretary Marc Vella Bonnici, organisational secretary William Lewis, and councils section president Mario Fava.

The PN also included One Productions chairman Jason Micallef, who is V18 chairman, as well as presenters Glenn Bedingfield, Ramona Attard and Luke Dalli – all with ministerial positions – and the former Net TV anchor Karl Stagno Navarra, who is employed with Malta Enterprise and presents a One TV show.

“The PN insists the Electoral Commission should investigate this breach of law. We have no problem being investigated… but Labour has not yet registered it self as a party, did not present its list of donors, and its party executive is paid out of the state coffers.”

The Labour minister for justice said that the Electoral Commission was duty bound to investigate claims that the Nationalist Party's media company issued "false invoices" to cover payments meant as a donation to the party. The case refers to claims by the DB group that it covered the wages of the PN's top executives by issuing invoices to the PN's media company, Media.Link.

PN leader Simon Busuttil has denied this claims insisting the arrangement was for commercial services rendered. The db Group insists it never took any advertising to justify the €70,800 it paid Media.link last year as part of this arrangement.

Labour MP Silvio Schembri challenged the Opposition leader to publish the invoices and give tangible proof of the services they refer to.

Bonnici insisted that the Electoral Commission was empowered to investigate if the parties use their companies as financing vehicles for donations. Under the party financing law political parties are obliged to give the commission a list of donations but this excludes commercial contracts entered into by their media companies.