Sophia in ‘t Veld, Chair of the EP’s Rule of Law Monitoring Group, called on Tuesday for a thorough investigation of the latest revelations regarding the Maltese “17 Black” company.
Following media reports that 17 Black, a Maltese company suspected of money laundering, is owned by Maltese businessman Yorgen Fenech, who is also director of the ElectroGas Malta power station and CEO of Tumas Group, Sophia in ‘t Veld (ALDE, NL) said:
“Any possible links and alleged payments between 17 Black and the two Panama companies Hearnville and Tillgate, owned by the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, Keith Schembri, and Minister Konrad Mizzi, have to be brought to light. These new revelations are extremely worrying and should trigger an immediate and thorough investigation by the Maltese authorities. Given the possible relevance for the ongoing investigation into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, we expect Europol to be fully involved in the follow up. In that light, we also sent a letter to Europol requesting their involvement and assessment of the current situation.”
Ms in ‘t Veld recently led a European Parliament mission to Malta to check on the ground the progress in the murder case investigations regarding the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia and assess the situation of rule of law in the country.
The report summarising the meetings and conclusions of the MEPs travelling to Malta will be presented in a meeting of the Civil Liberties Committee on 20 November.
