Ask him whether he has a company in a tax haven, not whether he has a trust

This morning, journalists who door-stepped the Prime Minister asked him whether he has a trust like Konrad Mizzi’s in New Zealand. He answered “Le”.

The correct question to ask him is whether he has a company like Konrad Mizzi’s, in Panama or another jurisdiction which is black-listed by the European Commission (Panama is the top black-listed one).

And incidentally, Konrad Mizzi doesn’t have a trust in New Zealand either. His wife and children do – which means that under the current rules for ministerial declarations, which were changed last year at Muscat’s request, Mizzi doesn’t have to declare the New Zealand trust at all because it’s his wife’s and not his.

He does, however, have to declare his company in Panama. Let’s wait for that declaration of assets to be made to parliament next month, and hold him to it.

Muscat was lying this morning when he said he found out through Konrad Mizzi’s declaration of assets “some weeks ago, which has still to be presented to parliament” about the New Zealand trust. Why on earth would Mizzi prepare his declaration of assets weeks ahead of the due date and show it to the Prime Minister? And why would he declare a trust owned by his wife when they changed the rules last year so that ministers don’t have to declare assets held by their spouse?

And then he didn’t declare his company in Panama. Obviously not – because that’s why he hid his assets in Panama in the first place, so that no request from the Maltese authorities could reach them as Panama does not share information with EU jurisdictions under the EU Tax & Savings Directive, and has been blacklisted as a result.

Joseph Muscat with Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez, President of Panama, last year.