Strasbourg/31.05.19/Turan: On May 29, the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe published a report on the investigation into the murder of Daphne Caruana of Galicia, a well-known journalist from Malta, who investigated corruption in politics and government officials in her country and abroad. She was killed by a bomb planted in her car on October 16, 2017.
The draft report, which will be submitted to the summer session of the PACE, refers to "the inability of the Maltese authorities to bring suspected murderers to justice or to establish the identity of customers."
In particular, serious claims have been made against the Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat, who has full authority and is responsible for all appointments of officials.
Law enforcement is poor, corrupt, and dependent on the executive branch. Government agencies violate freedom of information by blocking requests for information.
According to the investigation, the key object of corruption in Malta was the privately owned Pilatus Bank, founded by the 33-year-old Iranian Ali Sadr Hasheminejad. He applied for a banking license in October 2013 and received it, despite the young age and lack of experience.
In September 2018, the European Banking Authority revealed serious irregularities in issuing a license to Pilatus Bank.
It has been established that many bank customers were "politically exposed persons", which increases the risk of money laundering. Among them were companies owned by the daughters of the President of Azerbaijan and one of the Azerbaijani ministers.
Maltese officials close to the Prime Minister also had bank accounts. Hasheminejad was associated with Muscat Prime Minister, who, together with his wife, attended Hasheminejad's wedding in Italy.
In March 2018, Hasheminejad was arrested in the United States and accused of violating sanctions against Iran. US prosecutors said that Pilatus Bank was created using criminal proceeds. The bank"s assets were frozen, and the license was revoked in November 2018.
"In countries where there is no political will or ability to persecute corrupt officials, journalists who expose them, often become the target of persecution themselves. All the power of the state is directed not at corrupt officials, but at journalists and those who expose corruption.
That is what happened when journalists uncovered the Panamanian documents - revealing a wide network of corruption among government officials and politics around the world.
As for Malta, there is corruption at the highest level and corrupt officials are under the protection of the Prime Minister, the report says.
The Council of Europe should keep this case under control until the murder of Daphne Caruana of Galicia is fully investigated, the report stressed. -02D-
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