Why Abela’s done nothing

Why has Robert Abela completely ignored all the recommendations of the Daphne Caruana Galizia inquiry? Why has Robert Abela done nothing, one year after the report? What will make him implement those vital recommendations?

Abela’s done nothing because he can’t.  And nothing will make him implement the recommendations.  No amount of pressure from civil society organisations, no amount of protest from international organisations.

No amount of declarations by the Council of Europe. No matter how many resolutions the European Parliament passes. Not even suspending hundreds of millions of EU funds for undermining the rule of law will make Abela budge.

The prime minister simply cannot. Implementing those changes would spell the end of him.

It would expose Joseph Muscat and his pyramid of grand collaborators who have made money through his direct interventions –  Ram Tumuluri, Ashok Rattehalli, Shaukat Ali, Mark Pawley, Cheng Chen, Ali Sadr Hasheminejad, Hani Salah, Yorgen Fenech, Turab Musayev, Armin Ernst.

With them is an army of local beneficiaries including the Zammit Tabonas, Apap Bolognas, the Gasans, James Caterers, Construct Furniture, Silvio Debono, Bonnici brothers, Mario Pullicino and many more.

And Muscat’s insiders whose personal financial remuneration was significantly boosted – Joseph Cuschieri, James Piscopo, Johann Buttigieg, Kurt Farrugia, Jeffrey Curmi, Mark Mallia, Edward Caruana, Adrian Hillman, Keith Schembri.

Abela must protect himself. The increased transparency and accountability that come with “unexplained wealth orders”, crimes of abuse of office and association with criminal organisations, which the inquiry board recommended, would bring the whole edifice crumbling down.

Labour’s whole structure is glued together with secret deals with shady characters who finance the party. Abuse of office and thousands of direct orders is what’s keeping it together.

The inquiry board’s recommendation to tighten laws on issuing contracts and direct orders, prohibiting secret negotiations with businessmen, and banning communication through unofficial channels would unravel Labour’s tightly spun web.

Transparency would spell its undoing. Accountability would see its structure razed to the ground.

Those greedy degenerates would lose their freedom if Abela implemented the inquiry board’s recommendations to introduce the crime of obstruction of justice and hindering police investigations.

Many would end up behind bars if Abela brought in the inquiry board’s recommended ‘unexplained wealth orders’, “associazione di stampo mafioso”, or “abuzo d’ufficio”.

Abela knows their ruthlessness. For them, “it’s just business as usual”.  Just another €150,000.  Abela knows how cheaply inconvenient persons can be liquidated or perceived enemies punished.

It’s mere pocket money for some of those holding that pyramid together. Even threatening their revenue sources would trigger repercussions, let alone if their very freedom were jeopardised.

Yorgen Fenech’s long custody weighs heavily on their minds.  If he could end up incarcerated, so could the rest of them.  They’re determined not to let it happen, no matter what it takes. They know they cannot stop at anything.  And so does Robert Abela.

After all Abela knows the likes of tal-Maksar well – he represented them. They never seemed to lack the means or the will to blow people up, according to accusations they face in court.

Abela’s all too familiar with Christian Borg, his partner in the “small Zabbar plot” deal. Borg and his mates are accused of abducting Carlos Schembri, beating him, causing him injuries, breaking his tooth, leaving him bleeding and with visual impairment, threatening to rape his sister and cutting his fingers off – simply because Schembri stole one of his vans.

Borg counts Robert Abela his best friend – with good reason. Borg’s companies have received multi-million euro government contracts and direct orders from Transport Malta and LESA and are expected to bag a €2.5 million contract to supply the judiciary with vehicles.

If you maim a man for stealing your van, what would you do to anybody who dares deprive you of millions?

Abela can hardly introduce the crime of “associazione di stampo mafioso” when he’s done business with Borg, making tens of thousands in the process. The same Borg flew to Las Vegas for a lavish holiday with Tax Commissioner Marvin Gaerty just two months after Borg was called in for a “tax audit” of the company Princess Holdings, which is now poised to collect that €2.5 million government contract.

Gaerty was “probed” by the police for exchanging messages with Yorgen Fenech. Yet Abela kept Gaerty as Tax Commissioner even while under police bail for suspected trading in influence with Yorgen Fenech.

Abela’s hands are tied. He’s got too many skeletons to risk irritating that dangerous pyramid of reprobates.  He’s acutely aware some know about his skeletons. And they won’t hesitate exhuming them when the time comes, as they’ve done before.

Who leaked Abela’s eye watering remuneration at the Planning Authority?  Who revealed Abela’s Zabbar property deal with Christian Borg? Who exposed Abela’s dodgy Zejtun property deal or its rental to absent Russians? Only those closest to him could have known.

Malta’s only hope of justice is through delegation of jurisdiction to international courts and authorising international police forces to conduct investigations. That’s what nailed Yorgen Fenech.

Most of the grand corruption – Mozura, Electrogas, SOCAR, Vitals, Pilatus – spread across multiple jurisdictions. The Interpol Financial Crime and Anti-corruption Centre (IFCAAC) is specifically tasked to tackle financial crimes, illicit money flows and asset recovery. When an entire nation is affected by cross-border corruption, an international response is required.

Abela has multiple vested interests for his inaction. Our police and judiciary are too ill-resourced and inexperienced to deal with such complex criminality. And their independence is justifiably doubted.

Interpol has the expertise to trace, freeze, seize and return stolen public funds to the country of origin. The International Anti-corruption Coordination Centre (IACCC) brings together specialist law enforcement officers from multiple agencies around the world to tackle grand corruption. Financial intelligence Units from across the world have joined forces – including Jersey’s and Gibraltar’s. Why hasn’t Malta’s FIAU joined?

It’s probably still waiting for Abela’s approval – it will never come.