PN accuses Muscat of ‘brushing off’ Sammut arraignment

The Nationalist Party has accused Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of brushing off the recent arraignment of auditor and former Labour treasurer Joe Sammut.

Muscat insisted today that Sammut no longer forms part of the Labour Party and that he therefore need not take any steps against him.

Sammut served as treasurer of the Labour Party between 1993 and 1994.

On Tuesday, he was charged in court with misappropriation, money laundering and forgery over allegations that he had set up 800 false companies as a means of helping Libyan nationals fleeing the civil war obtain residence permits. When asked whether he will take any action on those residence permits, Muscat said that Identity Malta is looking into the alleged scam and trying to fix what had gone wrong in their system.

The PN said in a statement that Muscat’s reaction is proof of his weakness when faced with the “institutionalized corruption that has infiltrated Malta in the past two years, thanks to people close to the Labour Party”.

The party recounted how Sammut had served as Labour treasurer, contested four general elections under the Labour ticket, and spent a number of years working as a journalist for the Labour media.

“After days of silence, Muscat’s only reaction to Sammut’s court charges was to brush them off,” the party said. “Muscat must realize that he is the Prime Minister and that the people expect him to take decisions.”