Failure to declare overseas trust is just ‘administrative offence’ - minister

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici yesterday played down a breach of tax laws by the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, insisting it was merely an “administrative offence”. The Times of Malta yesterday reported how Joseph Muscat’s right-hand man Keith Schembri, currently at the centre of the Panama leaks scandal, had only declared his overseas trust in New Zealand once the story had become public. As a result, he is now facing fines for breaking income tax laws. Asked if he would tolerate such a situation from his own chief of staff, Dr Bonnici did not give a straight reply and instead said that a failure to declare such a trust was the kind of offence which was normally straightened out through administrative measures. “If I understood the story correctly, then as often happens, the Tax Commissioner has his remedies. Normally these are administrative and one is given the opportunity to regularise his position. I’m sure Mr Schembri, as many others often do, will regularise his position,” Dr Bonnici said. In a statement last Wednesday, Mr Schembri, who is facing increasing calls to resign over the Panama Papers leaks, said that “the trust was immediately declared to the relevant...