No evidence of corruption by passport agent, ministers implicated in French TV documentary

The Permanent Commission Against Corruption found no evidence of wrongdoing by passport agent Jean-Philippe Chetcuti, implicated in corruption by a French TV documentary.

The commission also absolved ministers Owen Bonnici and Julia Farrugia Portelli, who at different times were responsible for the golden passport scheme, from wrongdoing.

In a report tabled in parliament the PCAC said that in this case there is "no proof of corruption carried out by a public official or minister". It absolved lawyer Jean-Philippe Chetcuti and the two ministers from any wrongdoing.

Chetcuti’s firm had its licence to sell golden passports suspended in 2019, after he was secretly filmed by a French journalist who posed as a potential client. The documentary, broadcast on French TV, gave the impression that Chetcuti had bragged about his ties with ministers Owen Bonnici and Julia Farrugia Portelli. It also gave the impression that Chetcuti could bank on these connections to secure approvals for rich passport buyers.

Chetcuti has always claimed that the excerpts of the conversation that were aired by the producers of M6’s Enquete Exclusive were edited and taken out of context. Bonnici and Farrugia Portelli had also denied ever interfering in the process or fast-tracking any applications.

Bonnici denied the claim that he used to work for Chetcuti’s law firm and Farrugia Portelli reiterated that she knew the passport agent’s wife from the time they were primary school children, having lost contact since then.

The Permanent Commission Against Corruption is chaired by retired judge Lawrence Quintano

The PCAC interviewed Chetcuti, Bonnici and Farrugia Portelli as part of its investigation. The Commission also reviewed the whole recording and what was actually broadcast, concluding that “...There are also differences between what shows in the whole programme and what appears in snippets, as well as discrepancies between what was said and what was claimed to have been said.”

The PCAC is headed by retired judge Lawrence Quintano and counts as its members, former police commissioner John Rizzo and lawyer Philip Magri.

In comments posted on Facebook on Monday morning, Farrugia Portelli welcomed the PCAC’s decision. “Honesty wins over mud-slinging. I entered politics clean and want to exit clean,” she said.

Bonnici also commented on the decision: “[The PCAC] concluded that what was produced by the French TV programme Enquete Exclusive was nothing more than a lie.”

Bonnici hit out at his detractors, described as “the establishment”, insisting they resorted to personal attacks that spared no one, “when they realise that they cannot win popular support”.

French court ordered full video be given to Maltese agent

The passport agent had petitioned a French court to obtain a full version of the conversation that had lasted one hour and 20 minutes.

Chetcuti had presented the full recording to the magistrate that was carrying out a separate inquiry into the incident.

In 2020, Chetcuti showed MaltaToday the full video he obtained as a result of a French court order. He had accused the documentary producers of having carried out a “dishonest cut-and-paste” of the lengthy conversation.

The magisterial inquiry into potential trading in influence is separate from the PCAC’s probe and was triggered by rule of law NGO Repubblika. It is unclear what the outcome of the inquiry is.

An investigation by the passport scheme’s regulator Carmel De Gabriele in the aftermath of the claims found no “red flags” in the passport applications by Chetcuti’s firm.

Read the full report by the Permanent Commission Against Corruption below: