Updated | Busuttil calls for revocation of Gozo whistleblower's protection

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has filed a judicial protest against Gozitan whistleblower Joe Cauchi over his testimony in court yesterday.

“His protection as a so-called whistleblower hinges on his slander against the PN and myself as party leader,” Busuttil said in a strong-worded statement. “The more he lies about us, the more likely he is to get paid for illegal works he admits to have performed.”

Busuttil's protest comes a day after he issued a statement claiming that Cauchi's testimony confirmed his version of events that at no point during their meeting, had they discussed the alleged 'votes-for-works' ruse devised by Anthony Debono, the husband of former minister Giovanna Debono.

He accused Justice Minister Owen Bonnici of abetting Cauchi and of “shamefully” using the Whistleblower Act, that passed in Parliament last year, as a “political weapon against his political opponents”.

In a reaction to Busuttil's protest, the government accused Busuttil of accusing the first person to benefit from the Whistleblower act fro revealing an alleged corruption case.

The government reminded that people qualify for protection after a rigorous process involving the Attorney General, the Police and the Courts, which altogether decide whether a person deserves this protection or not.

“The person involved in this case has gone through this process,” the statement reads.

“Busuttil’s attack is therefore not just a direct attack on a person or a political matter, but it is an attack on institutions themselves and can scare people who would be willing to unmask corruption,” the government said adding that this was an extremely negative case.

The Labour Party accused Busuttil of trying to intimidate Cauchi, arguing that the whistleblower’s arguments have all been consistent so far.

“The whistleblower has been granted protection in this case on condition that he tells the truth and the whole truth,” the PL said in a statement. “It will be interesting to find out whether only Busuttil and the whistleblower participated in the June 2013 meeting and whether any records of the meeting exist.”

Cauchi is the first person to have come forward and to receive protection as a whistleblower since the law was passed in February 2014.

“This is also making a mockery of the whistleblower protection which has been given to someone who by his own admission conducted irregular works and sought undue payment for them and who now has a vested financial gain in the claims he is making,” Busuttil said. “This is not the way whistleblower protection should work in a democracy.”

According to Cauchi's statements in court, he had met Simon Busuttil in 2013 to report to him that Anthony Debono - husband of former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono - had not paid him for works he carried out at his requests. Busuttil allegedly asked him why he did not stop the works when it appeared that the Nationalists were not going to be re-elected.

However, Busuttil denied such claims as “sheer nonsense”.

He reiterated that when the two met in June 2013, Cauchi only spoke to him about money he was owed and about how he could be paid.

“He had absolutely no interest in stating that he was seeking money for illegal works because that would have meant that no money was due to him at law,” Busuttil said. “He is only changing his version now because it suits him to do so.”

“Cauchi complained with me that he was still owed some money from the Gozo Ministry and was concerned that with the change of Government this would not be paid. I replied that there was no reason why financial commitments should not be kept simply because of a change in Government.”

“During the meeting there was no mention whatsoever of any 'works for votes' allegations, no mention of works carried out for private individuals and no mention of false invoices. Had this been the case, it stands to reason that I would have replied that no public money could be claimed for works performed in private property because this would amount to misuse of public funds.”

He called on the public to choose who to believe: himself, who met Cauchi barely a month after becoming PN leader, or Cauchi, a “self-confessed crook who wants his pound of flesh because he realized he would not get paid for his shady dealings”.

“The truth is that if there was anyone who knew about these allegations and kept them hidden it was Joseph Muscat and Anton Refalo,” Busuttil said. “Joseph Muscat certainly knew because it is clear that the Labour Party disclosed these allegations to the media on the eve of the Local Council campaign in what is now a pattern that we all have become used to. Anton Refalo knew since, at least, last Summer. Neither Muscat nor Refalo explained why they kept this information to themselves and used it when it suited them rather than report it to the Police immediately.”