Prime Minister Robert Abela has come out in defence of his ministers cabinet, defending them from scrutiny when it comes to an alleged corruption case at Transport Malta. 

The Prime Minister said there were no investigations, criminal charges or legal proceedings concerning any ministers in this regard. 

Taking questions by Times of Malta, Abela was pointing to a case wherein an unnamed minister was implicated in wrongdoing when three Transport Malta officials were charged on Monday with helping learner drivers cheat in their exam.

Three men were arraigned in court but all denied corruption charges. The men in question were Clint Mansueto, a direct at TM, and officials Raul Antonio Pace and Philip Edrick Zammit. 

A police search of Mansueto’s phone also revealed chats with people linked to a political party supplying information about candidates who were to pass their driving test. 

However, Abela did not say whether he had spoken to his minister about the claims in court earlier this week and said that he was not informed of any investigation into any minister. 

“No minister has been criminally charged or accused of wrongdoing. Nor am I am informed of any investigations concerning any minister,” he said, adding later that there are “no investigations, accusations or legal proceedings against any minister.”

Abela also denied that the Labour Party was involved in this case, saying that there is no organised system within the party and denied it categorically. Abela said he had never spoken to Mansueto, but he did not say whether he had spoken to the co-accused. 

Police are currently going through more than 200 names contained in two diaries which they believe served as ledgers for suspected corruption in the scandal. The diaries being analysed are for 2020 and 2021 and contain the names of people suspected of having received favourable treatment. 

#MaltaDaily