Court provisionally upholds prohibitory injunction on Gaffarena lands

The First Hall of the Civil Court has provisionally upheld a request for a warrant of prohibitory injunction filed by the Prime Minister and Attorney General against businessman Mark Gaffarena and his wife Josielle.

Judge Joseph R. Micallef upheld the request, part of a court case filed last week by the Prime Minister against the Gaffarenas, who had made a profit of €685,000 in less than two months, last year from the expropriation of a palazzo in Old Mint Street, Valletta that was compensated at €1.65 million in both cash payment and land transfers.

The warrant was filed to protect the staggering credit of €1,594,500, which the government wants refunded following the recission of two contracts of sale. The contracts, entered into on the 28th January and 10th April 2015.

The properties whose transfer are potentially subject to recission are:

• The temporary dominium directum (direct ownership – a title falling just short of full ownership) of a property at 73, Triq Manwel Dimech, Sliema, corner with St John the Baptist Street.

• A 5,992m² portion of land known as Tas-Salvatur, limits of ta' Kandja, Siggiewi

• A 9,980m² portion of land at tal-Handaq, limits of Qormi

• A 3,735m² portion of land at Bahar ic-Caghaq which the Government had planned to take in exchange for a 1,663m² plot in the same area and two parcels of land, measuring 2,150m² and 24,073m² respectively, at Hal Mula, limits of Zebbug.

The prime minister's court application followed the resignation of parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon who, according to a report by the Auditor General, had failed to safeguard the public interest when signing off the expropriation deals.