CHOGM task force head sues blogger for libel

The head of the CHOGM 2015 task force, Phyllis Muscat, has filed a libel suit against Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia, over claims that she took kickbacks from hotels on delegate bookings.

Muscat said the article was “wholly false and malicious”.

“The allegation that I demanded kickbacks is a malicious lie with the intent to cause grave harm to my reputation, as well as to distort people’s perception of the successful outcome of CHOGM 2015,” Muscat said.

The CHOGM taskforce head said that the government was paid commissions recouped from profits made by the hotels, to offset part of the costs involved in the hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings. “The task force asked hotel companies to electronically transfer the commission directly to the government of Malta’s consolidated fund at the Central Bank of Malta. No personal gain was made from any of these proceeds. These accounts were also audited by a licensed firm,” Muscat said in a statement.

Muscat said the story was one of a series of fake stories “designed to be shared across all media platforms by others, with the aim of distorting people’s perception.”

According to the accounts for the CHOGM event tabled in the House of Representatives, some €4.7 million was spent on hospitality, €2.1 million on information services, €1.9 million on professional services, €1.5 million on personal emoluments, and €1.1 million on transport.

Income from the event was €862,000, in the form of sponsorship “received in cash” and delegates’ fees of €306,000.

The 2015 Budget estimates for the Office of the Prime Minister, under whose responsibility the organisation of CHOGM fell, included a provision of €4.5 million in connection with hosting the summit. But government estimates after both CHOGM and the Valletta Summit on Migration put the cost of hosting them at between €10-€12 million. When Transport Malta infrastructural works are factored in, the two events cost €17 million.