Council of Europe will wait for outcome of Maltese parliament’s probe before deciding Rosianne Cutajar’s fate

An investigation by the Council of Europe’s assembly into an alleged ethics breach by Rosianne Cutajar will wait for the outcome of a similar probe in Malta.

The assembly’s rules committee decided on Wednesday to request Speaker Anglu Farrugia to provide it with detailed information on ongoing procedures in the Maltese parliament.

Cutajar, a Labour MP and former parliamentary secretary, faces an ethics probe in Malta and the Council of Europe’s assembly over her involvement in a property deal concluded by Daphne Caruana Galizia murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.

Cutajar faces claims that she received thousands of euros in cash as a brokerage fee from the property deal. She denies the claim but has admitted receiving €9,000 in cash from Fenech as a birthday gift.

The case before the Maltese parliament remains pending after proceedings ended in limbo earlier this year when the Speaker walked out of a stormy meeting that had to decide the way forward.

Cutajar was subsequently accused of breaching ethics by Dutch MP Pieter Omtzigt for her close link with Yorgen Fenech and at a time when she used her seat at the Council of Europe to argue against a public inquiry into Caruana Galizia’s murder.

In today’s Council of Europe meeting, the rules committee said that pending receipt of the information requested from the Maltese Speaker and the completion of the national parliamentary procedure, the investigation will resume during the second session next year.

The assembly did censure Cutajar for failing to submit a declaration of interests since 2018 for four consecutive years, saying this constituted “a minor breach of the Code of Conduct” and decided to inform the Speaker of the Maltese parliament accordingly.

Cutajar was replaced as one of Malta’s representatives in parliament’s delegation to the COE assembly last month. Energy Minister Miriam Dalli took her place.