A whistleblower linked to exposing alleged corruption in the Maltese political system has seen a demand she be extradited from Greece, rejected.
Maria Efimova was one of the sources used by Maltese investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia who was assassinated in a car bomb in October 2017.
Caruana Galizia had been investigating claims that corruption had spread as high as the family of the country’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat.
Efimova fled the EU island state last year and was the subject of a European arrest warrant requested by the Maltese authorities. She eventually handed herself in to an Athens police station in March.
Several MEPs had campaigned on her behalf, claiming her life would be at risk in Malta because of her evidence. In a statement issued in March, the group of MEPs wrote:
“Maria Efimova is a material witness in investigations on corruption and money laundering in Malta, involving Pilatus Bank and government members exposed by Panama Papers and Malta’s FIU.
“We call on the Greek authorities to provide Maria Efimova with protection and safeguard of her security and that of her family and to not return her to Malta.”
One Maltese MEP, David Casa, was in Athens at the latest hearing on Thursday and tweeted:
That @KonradMizzi and @keithaschembri have not been brought to justice makes it clear that rule of law in Malta is not functioning. @PilatusBank whistleblower #MariaEfimova will NOT be extradited. pic.twitter.com/3jtvHmQogc
— David Casa (@DavidCasaMEP) April 12, 2018
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
