Schembri challenges Caruana Galizia to prove allegations • Tonna denies money transfer to Egrant

OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri, minister Konrad Mizzi and Nexia BT managing partner Brian Tonna have denied that the three Panamanian companies Tillgate Inc, Hearnville Inc and Egrant Inc, had ever held any bank accounts.

The offshore companies were incorporated by Nexia, with Tillgate and Hearnville set up on behalf of Schembri and Mizzi, as revealed in the Panama Papers.

Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia this afternoon claimed that a Dubai-registered company, Al Sahra FZCO, had made a single payment transaction of US$1.017 million to Egrant Inc last year, through a bank account in Dubai. “Like Egrant Inc, the other two companies have accounts at a bank in Dubai, too,” she wrote, without stating which bank this was.

In a press statement, Tonna reiterated that Egrant was a shelf company he owned and that it never had a bank account. He also stated that the company had now been dissolved. “Egrant Inc never received any payments whatsoever from Al Sahra FZCO, whether as a loan payment or otherwise. In fact, and again as I have already stated publicly, Egrant Inc never traded and never had or tried to open any bank accounts, from which it follows that it never made or received any payments at all,” Tonna stated.

“Nexia BT was not engaged by Egrant Inc, or indeed anybody else, in connection with the payments alleged to have been made, and never contacted Pilatus Bank, or indeed any bank, in that regard.”

Caruana Galizia claimed that the alleged loan payment was made from Al Sahra’s account at Pilatus Bank in Malta.

On his part, Keith Schembri challenged Caruana Galizia to support her allegations with evidence. “Six days have passed and all we’ve only heard lies from Simon Busuttil and Daphne Caruana Galizia,” Schembri said in a statement. “Tillgate Inc never held any bank accounts. I am serenely asking Caruana Galizia, or anyone else, to present any proof as soon as possible.”

Similarly, Konrad Mizzi said that Hearnville Inc never held any bank account, reiterated that he had commissioned an audit of the New Zealand trust Rotorua which was managed by trustees on behalf of Hearnville Inc. “The trustees engaged Crowe Horwath, one of the largest public audit and accounting firms in the world, and the audit established that the financial statements of the structure were presented fairly, in all material respects and in accordance with accounting policies,” Mizziaid.

“The auditors have confirmed that the evidence they obtained was sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for their audit opinion. This confirmed that the structure is solely intended as a family trust and that no bank accounts were held by the trust and company.”

Mizzi added: “Daphne Caruana Galizia is again lying outright. She has not provided a shred of evidence in support of her allegations.”

Mizzi, who today filed libel proceedings against Caruana Galizia on the back of another libel over allegations of money transfers from Azerbaijan to his offshore company,  added that he would continue to pursue legal action “to ensure that all untruths are met with full legal sanction”.