September 2015: Konrad Mizzi caught by reporter leaving Pilatus Bank in unmarked car

September 2015: Net News reporter Mario Frendo is tipped off that Konrad Mizzi, Minister for Energy, has been seen entering Whitehall Mansions in Ta’ Xbiex for the third time in a matter of days. He speeds down there to wait outside with a camera.

Whitehall Mansions contain the offices of Shanghai Electric Power, so Frendo draws the obvious conclusion and also remarks on the fact that the Minister, though he is using his government car, has removed the official plates so that it is unmarked and inconspicuous while it waits outside.

But the offices of Pilatus Bank are also at Whitehall Mansions. Several months later, in May 2016 – after the Panama Papers had broken round the world – I received a tip-off that Konrad Mizzi had been seen entering those offices more than once over the preceding months. I immediately linked that piece of information to Konrad Mizzi being stopped outside Whitehall Mansions by Mario Frendo.

Suddenly, his shifty behaviour and the removal of the GM plates made sense. They didn’t make sense before. He had no reason to be shifty about meeting Shanghai Electric Power. The fact that the government was dealing with that company was public already.

Until the full story breaks, you might find some background reading useful.