Prime Minister’s embattled chief of staff and wife to fly to Switzerland tomorrow

Keith Schembri, the Prime Minister’s embattled chief of staff, who earlier this week fell foul of the European Parliament’s PANA Committee, causing its deputy chairman to ask for his resignation, is to fly to Switzerland tomorrow with his wife, Josette Schembri Vella. They will return on Monday.

The purpose of this flying visit is unknown. Schembri owns several companies, with associated bank accounts, in high-level-secrecy jurisdictions which include Panama, New Zealand, Cyprus, the British Virgin Islands, Dubai and Gibraltar. His ownership is concealed by nominees.

Last February, Schembri, together with Energy and Health Minister Konrad Mizzi, was far along in the process to set up bank accounts at the Winterbotham Merchant Bank in the Bahamas, when this website broke the story of their secret companies in Panama. The process to set up the Bahamas bank accounts appears to have stopped there when the revelations were made.

A high-level source in Malta’s police force has told this website that last April, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit asked the then Commissioner of Police, Michael Cassar, to proceed with the prosecution of Schembri, Mizzi and other unnamed individuals on the basis of its investigation report.

Keith Schembri, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff

Josette Schembri Vella, who is married to the Prime Minister’s chief of staff and runs his interior decoration business, Loft, and its associated cafe in Naxxar.