[WATCH] ‘Time for Simon Busuttil to walk the talk on political responsibility’ – Labour

CapitalOne inquiry conclusions are 'serious' - Labour

The conclusions of the CapitalOne inquiry were too serious for the leader of the Nationalist Party, Simon Busuttil, to ignore, the Labour Party said today.

“Will Simon Busuttil walk the talk on political responsibility or is he going to continue defending Beppe Fenech Adami?” PL deputy leader Chris Cardona said.

“Busuttil must declare whether he is comfortable with Fenech Adami as his deputy.”

Cardona and Justice Minister Owen Bonnici this morning held a press conference on the conclusions of an inquiry into the way the Maltese police handled a case of money laundering. The inquiry found that the facts of MaltaToday’s story had been in the main substantiated.

The inquiry concluded that the investigation by the police was terminated abruptly, without any explanation. The board of inquiry concluded that it could not exclude that this happened when the name of Nationalist MP Beppe Fenech Adami cropped up in January 2013 – two months before the general elections.

At the time, Fenech Adami was a parliamentary assistant for home affairs, within the Office of the Prime Minister.

It also made a clear declaration that the CapitalOne investigation – for reasons unknown – was shorn of any guidance from police superiors when it merited a proper investigation by anti-money laundering inspectors.

“Just imagine what would happen if, instead of Beppe Fenech Adami, this were to involve a Labour politician… everyone would be calling for their resignation,” Cardona argued.

Referring to the inquiry conclusions, Bonnici said that the fact that documents pertaining to bank transactions had gone missing from the police file was a serious matter in itself. The inquiry got hold of the same documents through the bank.

“All evidence indicates that CapitalOne was being used as a vehicle for money laundering purposes, in connection to drug crimes,” he added.

On his part, Fenech Adami is denying any wrongdoing, or any knowledge that CapitalOne had been investigated by the police. He said that the inquiry report confirmed that he “never abused” of his position.