Konrad Mizzi didn’t do it to evade tax

When Konrad Mizzi set up his company in the secretive, blacklisted jurisdiction of Panama, and “double-walled” the already watertight (ahem) secrecy by putting the company into a trust in New Zealand, he didn’t do it for tax evasion.

He did it to contain money he cannot declare to the authorities even if he wanted to, because he would end up on trial. He’s a government minister on a salary of 76,000 euros a year, with no other legal source of income. Why do you think he needs an asset-concealment vehicle in a secretive and blacklisted jurisdiction? Not for tax evasion, that’s for sure.

Corruption and bribery carry a prison sentence. Former chief justice Noel Arrigo and former judge Patrick Vella served time in prison for taking bribes on a scale far, far less than would necessitate a complicated and secretive Panamanian vehicle.