Police sought court direction on accused in social benefits racket seeking whistleblower status

The police have sought the court’s direction to speak to an accused person in the social benefits fraud case, who is asking for whistleblower status.

Police Commissioner Angelo Gafà told radio host Andrew Azzopardi that Roger Agius could not be spoken again by the police unless the court gave its go-ahead. The go-ahead was given and the police have spoken to Agius with the outcome of that conversation expected to be made known in open court.

Agius is one of several people who were charged with a benefits racket that saw ineligible people receive severe disability benefits after presenting false medical documents. Former Labour MP Silvio Grixti is one of the persons charged with masterminding the racket.

Agius has been clamouring for whistleblower status, insisting he will be willing to spill the beans and uncover a wider network of abuse.

Speaking on RTK103, Gafà said it was police investigations that kicked off from a single person’s report that uncovered a whole network of abuse. Asked about Agius’s request for whistleblower status, Gafà said: “The prosecutor asked the court for direction to be able to speak to Roger Agius; we needed court direction because today he stands charged.”

The Police Commissioner was also asked whether he would be investigating the claim made earlier this week by former MP Jason Azzopardi that Chris Fearne had told him Joseph Muscat requested immunity and that Steward remain in Malta during the Labour Party leadership race.

Gafà said Azzopardi’s allegation on its own was based on hearsay. Speaking on a general level, he said the police were always vigilant whenever claims of criminal activity are made and these are investigated.

He was also asked to comment on several ongoing cases. On allegations of a massive racket at Identità, the government agency responsible for identity management, Gafà said police investigations are ongoing despite three men having been charged with obtaining residence permits in a fraudulent manner.

On the case involving allegations that former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri had leaked sensitive information to Yorgen Fenech about the Caruana Galizia murder investigation, Gafà said the magisterial inquiry was still going on. He noted the magisterial inquiry had started before he became police commissioner in 2020 and insisted it was the right way to go about the case because it implicated the police.

Commenting on criticism directed towards him by the Opposition and NGO Repubblika, Gafà insisted that over the past four years trust in the police force has increased as evidenced by Eurobarometer and NSO surveys.

“I could have expected what was coming when the Opposition did not attend my parliamentary grilling four years ago,” he said.

Gafà noted that “apart from Repubblika there are four people” who started “attacking” him with calumnious claims even before he had been selected police commissioner.

“This is all personal and an attempt to intimidate me… my five-year-old son came home asking his mother whether daddy is going to jail,” Gafà said, adding he had grown a thick skin over these years.

“I have to remain focussed on improving the police force,” he told his host.

Clarification:

The following is a right of reply received from the police force. MaltaToday has reheard the recording and the article has been amended to reflect the fact that the police have already taken direction from the court and indeed spoken to Mr Agius, the outcome of which will be known in open court.

The Malta Police Force would like to clarify that, contrary to the assertions made within the article Police Awaiting Court Direction On Accused In Social Benefits Racket Seeking Whistleblower Status, which made reference to an interview aired on RTK103 on Saturday 20 July 2024, at no point did the Police Commissioner say that ‘the police are awaiting the Court’s direction to speak to an accused person in the social benefits fraud case.’

During the said interview, the Commissioner stated that with regard to the allegation and declarations made by the said individual, it was the prosecuting officer himself who had requested direction from the Court to speak to the individual and this direction was necessary since the individual is already accused and the police cannot interview him again on the same alleged crime unless duly authorised by the Court.

The Commissioner also stated that as soon as the case against the mentioned individual starts being heard in open Court, everyone will be made aware of the outcome of said Court direction.

The Commissioner’s exact statement in this regard is reproduced hereunder:

‘This is public. It was the prosecuting officer who asked the court for direction to be able to speak to the person you are referring to and we need that direction from the court because the person stands accused and we cannot speak to him again unless we are authorised by the court; the person is accused and so we cannot speak to him if not with the court’s authorisation and this happened in the past days and God willing the case against him is now public and one can see what happened in that regard.’