After triggering the 17 Black inquiry, Simon Busuttil and David Casa are hopeful but wary
Former Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, Nationalist MEP David Casa, and Matthew Caruana Galizia discuss Malta's 'fragile court system', 'extreme corruption', and the long road to justice following the 17 Black and Panama Papers revelations

The 17 Black and Panama Papers magisterial inquiry has concluded, recommending criminal action against former government executives, businesspeople and companies.
However, those who triggered the investigation feel this is just the start of a long road to justice.
“The inquiry conclusion is just the first step in the criminal process,” former Opposition and Nationalist leader Simon Busuttil told MaltaToday. Busuttil, a backbencher at the time, and Nationalist MEP David Casa, had filed a request for a magisterial inquiry into 17 Black and the Panama Papers revelations.
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After a protracted legal battle their request was accepted by the courts, which meant this was the first time that this mysterious company was going to be investigated criminally.
READ ALSO: 17 Black: From Daphne’s cryptic post to criminal charges

In 2016, slain journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia reported that then-energy minister Konrad Mizzi and the prime minister's chief of staff, Keith Schembri, owned secret companies in Panama. Subsequent investigations revealed that these companies were slated to receive payments from 17 Black, a Dubai firm owned by businessman Yorgen Fenech.
The Panama Papers leak exposed the global use of offshore tax havens, implicating numerous high-profile individuals and entities. In Malta, the revelations centred on Mizzi and Schembri's offshore structures and their financial dealings with 17 Black. Emails uncovered during the investigation indicated that 17 Black was expected to transfer substantial sums to Mizzi's and Schembri's Panamanian companies, raising suspicions of corruption and money laundering.
The inquiry, led by Magistrate Charmaine Galea, was presented to the Attorney General late last month. While the specific charges have not been publicly disclosed, the inquiry's findings suggest serious legal repercussions for the individuals involved.
Hopeful but sceptical
When asked if he felt vindicated following the announcement that criminal action would be taken against Schembri and Mizzi, Busuttil stated that he did not.
“This is not about Simon Busuttil or Daphne Caruana Galizia being vindicated; this is about seeking justice. We have just witnessed the first step in the criminal process,” the former Nationalist leader said.
Matthew Caruana Galizia, Daphne’s son, does feel vindicated to some extent but is still sceptical of Malta’s “weak and fragile” court system.
“I do feel vindicated, but I am also aware that this is the start of another chapter,” Caruana Galizia told MaltaToday. “I have hope, but it is difficult for me to have that hope given that Malta’s fragile and weak justice system has failed people so many times.”
David Casa voiced his frustration over the long period it took for the inquiry to be concluded.
“I’m furious that it has taken this long to reach this milestone because the evidence has been in the public domain for many years now – not least because of the FIAU report I published,” he told MaltaToday.
He also stated that the legal team prosecuting the alleged criminals had additional responsibilities in handling the case.
“Faith in the institutions is at rock bottom. Everyone involved in obtaining justice for the Maltese people should keep that in mind and do everything possible to ensure justice is not derailed and sabotaged further,” Casa said.
‘No 17 Black, no assassination’ – Matthew Caruana Galizia
When questioned about links between 17 Black and the assassination of his mother, Caruana Galizia was adamant that the murder would not have taken place had the journalist not exposed details about the company.
“I believe wholeheartedly that it led to her assassination. No 17 Black, no assassination,” he said.

He also slammed the 2013 Labour administration, stating that its sole intention in gaining power was to carry out “extreme corruption.”
“Look at what they managed to do in just three years,” he said. “After just three years in power, top government officials have been charged with – passports, 17 Black, Vitals, and the Allied Newspaper printing press.”
He added: “Their sole intention was to commit corruption, and it led to the assassination of a journalist.”
Abela’s way forward: continuity or responsibility?
With government critics calling for political responsibility to be shouldered by the current administration over the 17 Black findings, MaltaToday asked what shape and form should accountability take.
Busuttil said there is clear “continuity” from Muscat to Abela.
“Abela defends Muscat to the hilt. Just last year, he led a crusade against Magistrate Gabriella Vella. That is his continuity. If he does not want to be held responsible, he should disassociate,” Busuttil said.
He said Labour has to carry out a soul-searching exercise on how it ran the government over the past decade. “Let’s remember this is the same government which the public inquiry found responsible for the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.”

Busuttil, who led the PN to its defeat in the 2017 general election, said it does not matter whether he felt cheated out of a win or not.
“It is in the past. People can now see, clearer than ever, that I was competing against a criminal organisation,” he said.
Casa continued in Busuttil's vein, stating that the Opposition and government critics “are confronting systemic corruption at the very core of the Labour Party and this government.” “We shouldn’t have to rely on the bravery of Jason Azzopardi, Simon Busuttil, Repubblika and the Nationalist Party to go above and beyond to battle the criminality that hijacked this country. A functioning democracy has institutions that do precisely that. They don’t. And that is by design because the rot is at the very core of this government,” he said.
Reforming magisterial inquiry system
Matthew Caruana Galizia slammed the poor timing of such statements, saying people are now being made aware of “their [the Labour government’s] corruption through such inquiries.”
Instead of complaining about why and how these inquiries are initiated, Abela should reform the “long time it takes for such inquiries to be concluded”, Caruana Galizia said.