PN wants Muscat to answer over sacking of Vietnamese MP as Labour calls Busuttil out on good governance

The Nationalist Party has insisted that it is up to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to explain how a Vietnamese MP was given Maltese citizenship, even though Vietnamese citizens are prohibited from having dual citizenship.

Nguyen Thi Nguyet Huong, 46, was unanimously found guilty of breaking the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, which prohibits Vietnamese citizens from having dual citizenship.

It was unclear why Huong had dual citizenship although the dtinews portal reported that Nguyet Huong’s entire family had dual Maltese citizenship.

In 2014, Malta introduced the Individual Investor Programme, through which successful applicants are granted citizenship in Malta by a certificate of naturalisation, which can also be extended to include their families.

“This case raises serious questions over the IIP’s due diligence process and the Prime Minister cannot remain silent,” the PN said today.

It argued that, in this case, it was evident that the due diligence process was either skipped or was not carried out professionally. “A Maltese passport was sold to a person who not only breached the law of her country but is also a politically exposed person,” the PN said.

It said, that Muscat should clarify his position, state what investigations were carried out prior to the award of the Maltese citizenship and what steps are being taken.

The Labour Party issued a press release later on in the morning, noting that Opposition leader Simon Busuttil had once again failed to act on another test of good governance.

It has now been revealed that between 2013 and April, two of PN MP Chris Said’s brother awarded 139 jobs to their other brother, while serving as mayors of Nadur, in Gozo.

“Simon Busuttil has chosen to defend Chris Said despite what his brothers did. This only means that the PN leader has given his blessing,” the PL said, noting that a policy document issued by the PN stressed the importance of making adequate use of people’s money and to ensure that it is not used to benefit relatives of people in public position.

“Yet, this pledge has been breached whilst the PN is still in Opposition.”

The PL argued that the work to Peter Paul Said by Charles and Edward Said

was given through direct orders. On other occasions, tenders were issued despite the budget not permitting.

The PL went on to add that a report published recently by the Auditor General admonished Chris Said for interfering in decision on the allocation of funds for local councils while serving as parliamentary secretary under the previous administration.