Malta’s illegal identity card scandal linked to state agency Identità has received its first court ruling. Meanwhile, a civil rights group says the corruption scandal – in which 18,000 fake ID cards were allegedly issued to foreigners in exchange for bribes – puts the European island nation’s national security at “enormous” risk.
Last week, Anthony Attard was given a suspended sentence on charges including forging documents and facilitating the entry of third-country nationals into Malta in breach of immigration laws. Attard, who was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended, played a supporting role in the scam by installing new post boxes on residential properties. According to Malta Today, the scheme allowed foreign nationals to provide a false address and receive letters from Identità, the agency responsible for identity documents and residence permits.
Several other suspects have been arrested in connection with the scandal, which was first exposed in July by former Maltese MP Jason Azzopardi. According to the lawyer, 60 million euros ($64.5 million) in bribes have been collected in connection with the ID fraud since 2015.
Identità, which changed its name last year after allegations of electoral fraud, denies responsibility. But earlier this month the judge granted a request from Azzopardi to investigate the fraud scheme.
“This is the biggest corruption scandal this country has ever carried out in any government agency or department,” Azzopardi says, claiming that authorities, including Maltese Police Commissioner Angeo Gafa, have known about the plot since at least October 2022.
Identità responded that it was conducting an internal investigation and had reported certain individuals to the police. Identità’s former senior manager Ryan Spagnol is also suing Azzopardi for defamation, alleging that he took bribes.
A problem of national security
The investigating magistrate’s investigation lists allegations of corruption and money laundering in the issuing of Maltese identity cards to foreigners based on forged documents, including marriage certificates, certificates from British local authorities and the Maltese Companies Registry.
According to media reports, immigrants paid between 2,000 and 8,000 euros for fake IDs. Many of them came from Egypt and Libya.
“This is shocking because these allegations reveal a huge risk to national security and a risk to families living in homes whose addresses have been stolen,” said the nonprofit civil rights organization Repubblika in a statement on August 14.
The group also called for an administrative investigation to examine the threats to national security and the validity of public records. The Maltese state has “lost the ability to manage even the most basic thing: the official certification of the identity of people living in Malta,” it said.
“When you see a Maltese identity card, you now have to doubt whether the information on it is credible,” the organization said in a statement.
The opposition Nationalist Party (PN) also joined calls for Identità to publish its internal investigations and called on the Audit Office to investigate how identity cards are issued in Malta. They also called on the government to provide a platform for property owners to see who is registered as a resident on their property.
However, the Interior Ministry responded that the publication of the internal investigation would jeopardize the ongoing police investigation.
The Maltese Chamber of Commerce also sharply criticized the government, saying that the Identità scandal was a symptom of a larger government crisis.
Article topics
Biometrics | Government services | Identity | Identity document | Identity management | Malta
