Keith Schembri, former Chief of Staff of the Maltese Prime Minister, is accused of money laundering and corruption. His legal team has requested that forensic expert Samuel Sittlington, Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa, and former Deputy Commissioner Alexandra Mamo testify to clarify alleged negotiations for consultancy services during the investigation. The defense calls into question the expert’s independence, further complicating an already contentious trial.
The FATF greylisting of Malta disgraced the EU tax haven and money-laundering hub. And the disgrace continues. An independent investigation into the murder of Maltese blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia concluded that the government at the time was complicit by failing to act. Today, Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Abdilla has been suspended. The former head of the Economic Crimes Unit (ECU) had already been heavily criticized for failing to investigate the Panama Papers. He was one of the good friends of the Maltese corruption network around Yorgen Fenech and former government officials Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.