'Brazen fraud': Opposition leader says ministers should resign after abuse of funds scandal

Updated at 5pm with Nationalist Party press conference

Two government ministers are under pressure after a report by the Commissioner for Standards found that Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri abused of public funds when giving a lucrative job to Bartolo's wife. 

Opposition leader Bernard Grech said the ministers should resign since they have been caught "comitting fraud with public funds in the form of a phantom job" to Bartolo's wife.

"While you are struggling to make ends meet, they are stealing from you. For this reason, they should resign immediately," he said in a reaction post on Facebook.

"The public is expecting action, not just more words. Robert Abela should take immediate action regarding this abuse by his Ministers. If they do not resign on their own, he should remove them."

Independent politician Arnold Cassola, who had requested a standards investigation into the matter, said he expects Prime Minister Robert Abela to "take the necessary disciplinary action against the two ministers, whilst introducing safeguards to ensure that such blatant abuses do not re-occur in the future".

Published on Thursday, the investigation by the Standards Commissioner revealed that Amanda Muscat, Bartolo's wife, was promoted from private secretary to policy consultant at the tourism ministry despite not having specialised knowledge or qualifications to perform the new role.

She kept the same role of policy consultant with an even higher expertise allowance when joining the Gozo ministry after her job at the tourism ministry was terminated. The transfer to the Gozo ministry happened after she developed a romantic relationship with Bartolo.

Nonetheless, the investigation found that although Muscat was supposed to be working with and for the Gozo ministry, she continued acting as the tourism minister’s private secretary.

Nationalist MPs want ministers' resignation

In a press conference on Thursday, Nationalist MPs Claudette Buttigieg, Alex Borg and Mario de Marco also called on the two ministers to resign immediately.

If the ministers do not step down, they said the prime minister should remove them from cabinet.

Buttigieg compared the case to that of Justyne Caruana,  who in 2021 resigned over an ethics breach that found she gifted her partner a €15,000 contract by direct order.

The MP also compared the matter to Rosianne Cutajar’s resignation from cabinet in 2021 after an ethics investigation detailing her role as a broker of sorts in a property deal involving Yorgen Fenech.

De Marco pointed out that Bartolo and Camilleri were deemed not only to have breached the ministerial code of ethics but also the law.