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| - Rights activists on Wednesday welcomed a decision by Malta's Labour Party to expel former energy minister Konrad Mizzi from its parliamentary group following fresh allegations of corruption against him. Mizzi was pushed out in a vote Tuesday evening after refusing Prime Minister Robert Abela's calls for him to resign. The former minister has long been dogged by controversy. He was named in the "Panama Papers" tax haven scandal in 2016 and his company was later connected to the secret Dubai-based company 17 Black, owned by Yorgen Fenech. Fenech is accused of involvement in the 2017 murder of investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia, a charge he denies. The latest scandal broke Monday after the Times of Malta reported that 17 Black had made 4.6 million euros from electricity service provider Enemalta's purchase of a windfarm project in Montenegro. The project had been bought by a company called Cifidex for EUR2.9 million -- money borrowed from 17 Black -- before Enemalta purchased it for EUR10.3 million just two weeks later, it said. Cifidex then repaid the EUR2.9 million to 17 Black, along with EUR4.6 million "profit", it said. Mizzi was the country's energy minister at the time. "The decision on Konrad Mizzi was taken because of the implications that there were, that he had connections with the Panama Papers, with 17 Black", Abela told journalists after the vote Tuesday. "To be clear, I am not judging Mizzi from a legal aspect. Here we are judging his political position. I believe our standards as a party and as government are of the highest level," he said. Malta's Repubblika civil rights organisation hailed his expulsion as a "step on the long and tough path to truth and justice". "We welcome the fact that after years of being ridiculed and threatened, it seems like our country is beginning to become aware of what we have been pointing out all along: there is a mafia that has taken over power," it said. It said the blame lay not only with Mizzi but also with Muscat and the police, who it said failed to fulfil their responsibilities. The vote against Mizzi was overwhelming, with 71 of the 73 attendees opting to expel him from the group. Former prime minister Joseph Muscat, who has long defended Mizzi over his apparent links to 17 Black and Fenech, was not present for the meeting. Abela said the allegations of corruption did not extend to Muscat. Mizzi, who did not comment on his dismissal, becomes an independent MP, unaffiliated with any political party. ide/jj
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