Updated 6.15pm with Minister's afternoon appearance in Parliament

 

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna skipped a libel hearing on Monday morning because he was in hospital, according to his lawyer, but he surprisingly turned up in Parliament in the afternoon to open a debate on money laundering. 

Lawyer Ivan Sammut told Magistrate Rachel Montebello at around 9.30am that the minister had been taken ill while abroad last week and had been admitted to Mater Dei Hospital for further treatment upon his return to Malta.

However, the 73-year-old turned up in Parliament to deliver a 45-minute introducing a debate on a series of amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which are meant to transpose the fifth anti-money laundering directive. 

Professor Scicluna was due to appear in court over libel proceedings he had filed against former opposition leader Simon Busuttil over a tweet about the minister’s involvement in the deal for the sale of three hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare. 

Minister Scicluna had filed the libel suit in July, claiming that a tweet posted by Dr Busuttil over a magisterial decree green lighting an inquiry into the VGH hospitals deal, was defamatory in his regard.

A day after the magistrate’s decision, Dr Busuttil had posted a message claiming that Minister Scicluna, as one of the three ministers to be targeted by the criminal inquiry, was to step aside “until he clears his name.”

"Such allegations are totally unfounded and are aimed at tarnishing the minister’s reputation," the ministry said in a statement that same evening, adding that Prof. Scicluna did not have any other option than to initiate legal proceedings for defamation to protect his integrity.

No progress had been registered at the first hearing of the libel case last month, scheduled on the eve of the Budget speech, since the Minister had been unable to attend in view of his commitments in Parliament the following day.

When the case was once again called on Monday morning, Minister Scicluna was once again absent.

“Is he going to run away too!” quipped lawyer Peter Fenech, assisting Dr Busuttil, clearly referring to Keith Schembri’s withdrawal of his libel suit last week.

Following Dr Sammut’s explanation that the minister was in hospital, Magistrate Montebello adjourned the hearing to January, stating clearly that if the minister failed to put forward his evidence at that date, the court would deem that he had no evidence.

The case continues.

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