28/06/21

MALTA: PM urged to ask Germany for ‘Dubai list’ data on Maltese tax evaders.

As published on newsbook.com.mt, Sunday 27 June, 2021.

In an open letter, independent political candidate Arnold Cassola has urged Prime Minister Robert Abela to ask Germany to provide access to its so-called “Dubai list,” which could help track down possible tax evasion and asset hiding from Maltese nationals.

Earlier this month, it was reported German authorities had purchased a trove of data provided by an anonymous source related to people with assets in the United Arab Emirates, particularly in Dubai.

The data was acquired for some €2 million, and Germany is reportedly ready to provide access to other national authorities.

Cassola was adamant that Malta should seize the opportunity provided, highlighting that it has been proven that Yorgen Fenech and Paul Apap Bologna – both involved in the controversial Electrogas deal – had opened secret companies in the UAE.

“I would not be surprised if cousins Ryan and Keith Schembri did the same,” he added.

He thus asked Abela to assure that his government would ask Germany for access in a bid to recover any taxes which the people concerned sought to evade.

Cassola said that he was not only seeking this assurance in the wake of Malta’s greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force, but also because “a substantial number of Maltese, myself included, are still not sure whether you are free to act in the interest of the Maltese public or whether you are still at the mercy of the charlatan who had preceded you, Joseph Muscat.”

Abela’s immediate action would help prove that he was his own man and not a puppet “in the hands of that political delinquent.”