NINE MONTH DELAY IN GRANTING PARDON TO COOPERATING INDIVIDUAL MEANS MALTA'S POWER ELITE DON'T WANT TO BE IMPLICATED IN CORRUPTION AND FINANCIAL CRIME

An unusual and very vocal complaint, from one of the key players in the Daphne murder case, has focused attention upon what is really happening behind the scenes in Malta's government: a deliberate effort to delay testimony that will implicate some very powerful people in or out of office, so that they may themselves secure immunity from prosecution for their crimes, ahead of certain very damaging disclosures.

Victor Muscat, who has been charged in the assasination of the crusading journalist and whistleblower, alleges, in a judicial filing that his country's senior officials have delayed since last November to grant him the promised Presidential Pardon, so that he may testify in not only the Daphne case, but other crimes as well. It is believed that Muscat will implicate several present and former members of government, as well as a number of other Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), including lawyers and corporate services consultants.

The witness is casting blame upon the country's President, but the role of the Minister of Justice, as well as police inspectors, who are excusing the delayas upon the Corona Virus, staffing shortgages, and anything else they can hand their hat on, have been pointed to as prima facie evidence of intentional delay, to allow specific Maltese time to negotiate, and obtain, immunity from prosecution. Running out the clock on the Statute of Limitations, which has ben seen before in Malta, has also been cited by legal onservers as another possible reason for the inexplicable delays.

Obviously, we are not just dealing with allegations of corruption, but specific financial crimes as well, for whenever individuals in government conceal bribes and kickbacks, or earn illegal profits, when they thereafter move them through the global banking system, they become guilty of money laundering. Given that the Panama Papers scandal demonstrated that offshore activities are a not infrequent method employed by dirty Maltese government officials at the highest level, it can be inferred that Muscat's information will most definitely implicate a number of individuals in that crime.

Finally, the admissibility of Muscat's information, and any sworn testimony that he gives in Malta, to make criminal cases in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the EU, should not be ignored. Rumors have swirled around Malta for months about the presnce of American Federal criminal investigators in Malta, and whether they are collecting evidence for a US prosecution. American judges do not give out Probation, or suspended sentences, for money laundering.

Malta's clever law enforcement tactic of conducting investigations for years, and then abandoning them, or neglacting to bring any charges at all, has not gone unnoticed in the United States, and you cshould expect to see some action from the Department of Justice. The guilty should remember what happened to General Noriega or Panama, and the then-Prime Minister of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Let's hear what Victor Muscat has to say. I am sure that the former Prime Minister,  the ex-Chief of Staff,  the ex-Police Commissioner, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, will all be paying attention.