[WATCH] Muscat on DB Group claims: PN's delayed rebuttal raises doubts on its veracity

The long time it took the Nationalist Party to react to allegations made on Sunday by DB Group, which claimed it was paying the salaries of the PN's secretary general and its CEO, raised doubts as to the veracity of the rebuttal, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said tonight.

The DB Group, owner of the Seabank hotel, and which will be developing a €300 million Hard Rock Hotel on the site of the Institute of Tourism Studies following a €60 million concession by the government, claimed on Sunday that they paid the monthly salaries of PN secretary general Rosette Thake and CEO Brian St John.

Late in the afternoon on Monday, the PN issued a statement, categorically denying hotelier Silvio Debono’s allegations.

“It is not true that any party employee or official is being paid by a third party,” the PN said in its statement – some 17 hours after Debono made his stunning claim. “Thake’s salary is being paid by the PN, while St John’s salary is being paid by Media.link Communications.”

Speaking to journalists outside Parliament, Muscat said that the PN seemed to try to come with some excuse to hide the fact it had breaking the law governing party financing.

"That will be up to the people to judge and decide," he said. "The fact remains that Busuttil still needs to answer a number of questions that arise, particularly as to when he was informed that his deputy, Mario de Marco, through his private law firm, was the legal advisor for DB Group during its negotiations for the concession.”

Muscat called on Busuttil to clarify whether other PN employees were being paid by other private companies and if the party had declared this income as a donation in its accounting report it was duty-bound to present under the party financing legislation.

He said the Labour Party had no such arrangements with Seabank or other private companies.

Asked by MaltaToday whether this incident cast a black cloud over Silvio Debono and how he dealt with politicians, Muscat said it definitely put Busuttil in a bad light.

“The Labour Party has always been open to scrutiny and we do not have – and will never have – similar arrangements with Debono or anyone else.”

Muscat noted that the PN had claimed after 24 hours, to only have received €3,000 in donations from Silvio Debono.

“I do not believe they only gave them 3,000,” he said.