PN wants internal probe into TM maritime fines corruption racket to be published

The Nationalist Party has expressed its “disgust” at how an internal investigation by Transport Malta found no wrong doing despite officials allegedly dropping maritime fines after pocketing money from boaters.  

MPs Ivan Castillo, Mark Anthony Sammut and Darren Carabott said claims by the Nationalist Party on scandals involving the transport authority’s maritime sectors have now been backend up by the independent media.

Last Sunday, in an exclusive report, MaltaToday revealed how at least three officials within the Maritime Enforcement Unit (MEU) at Transport Malta have been tampering with maritime fines.

The names of the officials implicated in this racket are known to this newspaper but are being withheld for the time being.

The sources said that employees within the MEU have been pressured to “erase” certain fines issued to boaters for various maritime infringements.

Citing the MaltaToday report, Castillo said the PN insists that the investigation report, its method and who was on the investigations board be made public. He also claimed the government is being held hostage by TM officials to keep the incident under wraps.

He also said Prime Minister Robert Abela is being blackmailed by predecessor Joseph Muscat.

Mark Anthony Sammut said TM has become known to be an institution “full of rackets”, mentioning the driving licence racket, the Y-plate saga and consultancies to former MP Silvio Grixti who is embroiled in the medical certificates racket.

“We are not interested in internal investigations by the authority because we don’t trust them and fear they could be tampered with,” Sammut said.

He expressed concern over the assertion that everything is in order despite the incriminating evidence. Sammut urged the police to fulfil their duty and slammed government for being sluggish. He highlighted that these institutions are funded by taxpayers to ensure the public's safety, “hence transparency should be a reasonable expectation.”

Sammut noted that despite the evidence, only the Transport Minister and the authority’s CEO had been replaced in recent months. He called upon Prime Minister Robert Abela to fulfil his responsibilities, take accountability, and ensure the proper functioning of his government's authorities.

Meanwhile, PN MP Darren Carabott remarked that these scandals have not only occurred over the past nine months but have accumulated over several years. He emphasised that the PN has consistently demanded and anticipated action to be taken.