Police commissioner respects call for investigations, but cannot break silence

Commissioner of Police Angelo Gafà has kept his cards close to his chest as to whether former Muscat-era ministers are being investigated by the police.

Interviewed on 103FM by host Andrew Azzopardi, Gafà, who was appointed to the post in 2020, would not comment on calls for investigations into former prime minister Joseph Muscat, his chief of staff Keith Schembri and former minister Konrad Mizzi, the latter two having been exposed in the Panama Papers scandal.

“I cannot go into the details of any specific cases or about the progress of investigations,” Gafà replied.

He was asked about the calls for investigations made by anti-corruption NGO Repubblika in its sit-in outside the police headquarters, which wants the prosecution of former Labour MP Konrad Mizzi.

“I respect those who make their voices heard, but the police force does not have that same privilege and it must remain neutral,” Gafà said.

The police commissioner however said that a police investigation is always opened when allegations are made, in the press or otherwise, or when information is brought to the attention of a magistrate overseeing an inquiry.

Gafà justified the lengthy process in financial crime investigations, saying that certain cases can be quite complex and require the input of experts that are not found locally.

Gafà said the police was doing a lot of work to combat computer-enabled and computer-dependent crime, saying that in an ever-globalised world, transnational crime has become more common. “We saw 47 cases of money laundering this year, a significant increase from the 24 cases of last year.”