Sent in by Misha in response to today’s earlier story on Jacob Borg chasing Keith Schembri down the streets of Valletta:
Some questions to be put to Keith Schembri and his boss (at least on paper), Joseph Muscat following the comment by the former stating that he pays the salary of journalists working for Allied Newspapers and has done so for the past 3 years:
1.
On being appointed as Chief of Staff at the office of the prime minister, the public was informed by the Prime Minister that Keith Schembri resigned as a director on all his companies (Maltese, at least) so as to avoid any conflicts of interest. If this is the case, then Schembri is not meant to take any decisions in respect of the running of companies in which he has an interest as a shareholder.
Question: If Schembri has no influence in the running of the aforementioned companies, then how could he be paying the salary (metaphorically speaking) of Allied Newspapers journalists?
2.
Allied Newspapers declared that Kasco (who is beneficially owned by Keith Schembri) is just a supplier to its sister company Progress Press. If this is the case, then Kasco is an expense to Allied Newspapers rather than a source of revenue.
Question: In what way was Allied Newspapers or any of its sister or associated companies or the foundation which owns it, in receipt of any funds from Kasco as implied by Keith Schembri’s remark?
3.
Schembri’s remarks imply that he is still exerting influence over the running of companies he wholly or partially owns.
Question: How can he reconcile having influence over the running of his companies with having influence on how the country is run without having any conflicts of interest? If conflicts of interest exist, is his position tenable?
4.
The consolidated financial statements of Kasco Holdings Limited audited by Nexia BT for the year ended 31.12.2016 which includes all income generated by the subsidiaries of the aforementioned company shows a net profit after tax of just under a quarter of a million Euro. In 2016, the company issued an interim dividend of € 130,000 to its shareholders (those who have a right to receive such dividends). The vast majority of this dividend was paid to Keith Schembri as the owner of 1,115,279 out of 1,115,281 shares in the holding company.
Question: When Keith Schembri indicated that he paid the salary of journalists at Allied Newspapers, did this come out of the salary he earns for his official position as chief of staff to the PM or from the dividend he receives from Kasco Holdings Limited? If neither is the case, and one therefore assumes that payments were made from companies he fully or partially owns, in what context and for what legitimate purposes were payments made from such companies to Allied Newspapers?
And one final rhetorical question: When the chief of staff to the prime minister of an EU country feels he can make veiled threats to journalists on camera and admit that he indirectly or directly pays the salary of such journalists, all this with impunity, how does this reflect on the state of democracy in such a country?