[WATCH] Updated | PN MEP David Casa takes leaked FIAU report to magistrate but refuses to publish it

Updated at 12.47pm with Konrad Mizzi's reaction

David Casa has taken a leaked financial intelligence report that allegedly contains damning evidence of "illegal activity" by minister Konrad Mizzi to an inquiring magistrate.

The Nationalist Party MEP told journalists on Friday morning the 128-page report focussed exclusively on Mizzi's activities and includes details such as bank statements and flight arrangements that show how he worked hand-in-hand with the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri to open companies to "hide money coming from illegal activity".

Casa insisted that the report finished by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit in March 2017, concluded "in the clearest terms" that legal proceedings must be brought against Mizzi.

However, at a press conference on Friday morning, Casa refused to publish the report as he had promised, insisting he would allow the magistrate to conduct his own investigation.

"I believe that this type of information must be in the possession of the judiciary for inquiries to be carried out according to law," Casa said.

The report includes proof, dates, figures and names of other people and the fabrication of documents to allow Konrad Mizzi to do what he did PN MEP David Casa

Casa said the report in his possession was not a page or two but a full 128-page report. He said the report was being examined by a team of legal experts engaged by him.

After receiving the first analysis, Casa said he is passing on the information to the inquiring magistrate.

“There should be an inquiry into Konrad Mizzi and into why the FIAU hid this grave report, which in my opinion is the worst report by the FIAU on these cases," Casa said.

In December last year, the FIAU had publicly denied it had a conclusive report on the matters that were being alleged.

Casa said the report not only included details of bank transfers but also a series of lies by Mizzi, as well as facts about how attempts were made to hide Mizzi's dealings. "The report includes proof, dates, figures and names of other people and the fabrication of documents to allow Mizzi to do what he did," Casa said, adding that "naturally Pilatus Bank was also involved".

The report also included details on negotiations on the part-privatisation of Enemalta to Chinese company Shanghai Electric.

"I don't believe the insitutions of this country, with the exception of the judiciary," Casa said, adding that he had no faith in the police, the Attorney General and the FIAU. "I felt I had to go to the judiciary because it is the only institution in our country I still have faith in to expose the truth."

He said Malta was like a communist or dictatorial state, where people exposing corruption were threatened.

Reacting to criticism that his actions in the European Parliament harmed Malta, Casa said he was defending the Maltese nation.

Lawyer and Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi who signed the court application, said he was present at the press conference not as a politician, but as a part of the legal team engaged by Casa.

He explained that in his application, Casa would be informing the magistrate that he had detailed evidence of wrongdoing which the country's authorities had hid from the inquiring magistrate. He said Casa would be asking for permission to testify under oath.

"With a sense of duty and loyalty to the inquiring magistrate the undersigned did not reveal to the public or the media the content of this evidence and detailed information, (even if the evidence is very much in the public interest as it deals with schemes, systems, actions and collusion in corruption and money laundering on a substantial scale by members of the Executive and other public officials in the Office of the Prime Minister, the likes of which this country has never seen) apart from informing the public in a short news conference that he would be tabling this application and the evidence is based on a detailed report by the FIAU and the conclusions of the report."

Konrad Mizzi denies wrongdoing

Meanwhile, Konrad Mizzi insisted that he committed no wrongdoing and the family trust and Panama company he had set up never held bank accounts and "absolutely no funds were ever received from anywhere in the world". The trust and company have since been dissolved.

Reacting to Casa's statements, Mizzi said no amount of "hypotheses or speculation" in his regard can ever be proved because it is all false.

"The alleged content of what is purported to be an FIAU draft working document is, at best, pure conjecture. Any report based on falsities and speculation cannot be anything but an irresponsible work of fiction. Any investigation would show that I received zero funds and I cannot envisage any honest report stating otherwise," Mizzi said.

Mizzi said the latest twist was a continuation of what he described as a "coordinated smear campaign by Nationalist Party bloggers and sympathisers in the press". He insisted the same PN allegations were evidently at the core of the draft report, alleging it was written to be leaked.

"It is clear that this campaign was coordinated with the writer of the draft report, and the report written to be eventually leaked," Mizzi said.

Read also: Casa says he has damning FIAU report on Konrad Mizzi and money laundering allegations