The Maltese government has announced it will join the search for the submersible craft that went missing while exploring the wreck of the Titanic, so that it can ask one of the billionaires on board to pay for the Maltese passport he bought.
Shahzada Dawood is one of the five passengers and crew on board the Titan submersible vessel, which lost contact with the surface on Sunday,
The Pakistani billionaire purchased Maltese citizenship in 2016, but a spokesperson for the government said he had not yet paid in full for his passport.
“Mr Dawood was paying for his citizenship in monthly instalments. He still owes us €52.87, plus €2 admin fee. If he thinks he can skip out on paying the full amount by dying 4,000 metres underwater, he has another thing coming,” the spokesperson said.
“We hope to find him and obtain the remaining money before the sub’s oxygen supply runs out. so we have diverted all of Malta’s maritime resources to the North Atlantic Ocean. It’s not like there are any closer, easier sea rescues we need to be conducting right now anyway,” she added.
