Former Labour MP Silvio Grixti unmasked in disability benefit scandal

Former Labour MP Silvio Grixti has recently been implicated in an extensive scheme spanning several years, involving the fraudulent acquisition of monthly disability benefits by hundreds of individuals who were not legitimately entitled to them.

The Times of Malta on Sunday reported how family doctor, Silvio Grixti, provided false medical documentation to assist people, often residing in strongholds of the Labour Party like Żabbar, Żejtun, and Paola, in fraudulently obtaining monthly social benefits meant for severe disabilities they did not actually suffer from.

The operation enabled claimants to receive monthly payments, averaging around €450, from the social security department

Some individuals implicated in the scheme during 2019 and 2020 have asserted to police investigators that they were directed to Grixti by various individuals, including a Labour minister, a now-deceased PL MP, ministers' aides, and even customer care officials from the Prime Minister's office.

The Times of Malta also reported that in recent weeks and months, the police have discreetly filed charges against numerous individuals who benefited from this scheme.

The majority of those arraigned, according to the same newspaper, have confessed to the charges and agreed to reimburse the wrongfully acquired funds, subsequently receiving suspended sentences for defrauding the government.

Grixti has yet to face charges for his alleged central role in facilitating this fraudulent scheme. 

The former Labour MP Silvio Grixti has been refusing to acknowledge repeated requests for comment, on allegations of fraudulent certifications used by patients attempting to be ‘boarded out’ of government work, for months,

Grixti resigned from parliament after being interrogated by the police over an investigation into allegations of falsification of medical certifications.

When approached for comment once again by Times of Malta, Grixti, represented by lawyers Franco Debono and Arthur Azzopardi, declined to provide any statement.

During the course of the investigation, a seized laptop played a crucial role in revealing the extent and organization of the fraudulent operation.

Sources familiar with the ongoing police investigations suggested to the newspaper that the number of false disability claims stemming from this scheme may potentially reach approximately 800. However, this exact figure has not been verified. 

Allegedly, the scheme gained enough notoriety within Labour circles to develop a life of its own, with some claimants admitting to obtaining forged certificates from individuals other than Grixti.