And…Konrad Mizzi, Keith Schembri and Joseph Muscat are back in the news in Australia

Published: October 4, 2016 at 6:51pm

The Australian Financial Review has published the backstory to the New Zealand prime minister’s trials and tribulations with the Panama Papers, caused in no small part by two politicians from Malta.

The article says:

Key had attended a CHOGM meeting in Malta last November unaware that senior Maltese government figures were secretly setting up foreign trusts in New Zealand linked to Panama companies operated by Mossack Fonseca.

At the time of the CHOGM meeting Mossack Fonseca was desperately trying to find a bank – any bank – around the world which would open an account for the Maltese energy minister, Konrad Mizzi, and Keith Schembri, the chief of staff to prime minister Joseph Muscat.

Disclosure laws

Even some of the world’s shadiest banks declined, because of the strict disclosure laws to prevent money laundering by political figures.

There had been no such difficulty in setting up trusts in New Zealand.

“Yep. That is why I was trying to front foot it all those months ago,” Treasury adviser Andrea Black emailed a colleague on April 4 about the Malta story.

australian-financial-review