Malta corruption whistleblower hands herself in to police

malta

A whistleblower at the centre of a corruption scandal surrounding Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, has handed herself in to police in Athens. Maria Efimova, who claimed a private bank where she worked had been used to move funds for Maltese politicians and the children of the president of Azerbaijan, voluntarily attended a police station in Syntagma Square on Monday night.

Maltese authorities issued a European arrest warrant for the Russian national in November, alleging she had made false claims against local police. This was followed by an arrest warrant in Cyprus, where Efimova had lived and worked four years ago, over allegations of defrauding her employer. Efimova was transferred to court custody on Tuesday morning and a judge will consider her case. She had earlier contacted friends and supporters saying she was in emotional distress and feared for her life. The MEP Stelios Kouloglou, who had been helping Efimova with an application for residency in Greece, spoke to her and to the police officer dealing with her case on Monday night. He told the Guardian: “She called me last night from the police station. She told me she turned herself in because she was afraid. Her husband called this morning. He said she was terrorised and saying she was going to die.”(theguardian)…[+]