Education perm sec Frank Fabri resigns in wake of Bogdanovic scandal

Updated at 2:20pm with government statement

Frank Fabri has resigned from education permanent secretary, weeks after former minister Justyne Caruana stepped down from Cabinet as a result of an ethics probe.

The resignation has now been confirmed by the government, who appointed Matthew Vella in his stead.

The Standards Commissioner investigation found that Caruana breached ethics when she awarded a €15,000 contract to her close friend, Daniel Bogdanovic, for a job he was unable to do. Fabri was indicted in the report because he signed off on the contract.

The report also recommended a criminal investigation.

Caruana resigned in December and is now challenging the Standard Commissioner's report in court. Parliament's ethics committee still has to hear her case.

Fabri was under pressure to resign after the minister's departure.

In a statement on Monday afternoon, the government confirmed that Fabri offered his resignation earlier today during a meeting with Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar. The resignation was accepted.

"The Principal Permanent Secretary accepted Dr Fabri's decision and thanked him for his service and the changes carried out in the educational sector during his tenure," the government statement read.

The statement added that Matthew Vella, who was appointed permanent secretary in the newly-created inclusion ministry in 2020, will now take up the role previoulsy occupied by Fabri in the education ministry.

Vella will step into his new role tomorrow when a transition period starts.