MDA head sues Cassola for libel over Facebook posts about Muscat consultancy

Michael Stivala sues Arnold Cassola over Muscat consultancy claims

Arnold Cassola
Arnold Cassola

Malta Developers Association president Michael Stivala has filed libel proceedings against politician Arnold Cassola over Facebook posts concerning former prime minister Joseph Muscat's consultancy work with the Stivala Group.

Cassola described Stivala as having been “gifted various illegalities” under the Muscat premiership. Cassola had made the claims in a series of Facebook posts on Friday and Sunday.

One post, titled “Robert Abela: lying about Joseph Muscat,” read that “Muscat got his ‘so-called consultancies’ from Accutor and Stivala in 2020, soon after his resignation.”

On a post uploaded to Facebook on Monday morning Cassola referred to “Joseph Muscat’s payback time… Consultant with Stivala.”

Stivala had last week confirmed that he had put Muscat on his payroll as a consultant, just months after the latter resigned as prime minister.

Stivala’s libel application was filed after Cassola’s latest post.

The application, signed by lawyer Vince Galea, states that Cassola’s comments gave a false impression and were intended solely to sully Stivala's reputation.