Stephanie Vassallo replaces Francine Farrugia as Siġġiewi councillor

Stephanie Vassallo has been elected to the Siġġiewi local council, taking over from Francine Farrugia, the Electoral Commission announced on Tuesday.

Vassallo was the only Nationalist Party candidate in the casual election.

Francine Farrugia, who served as a manager within the salaries department at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), was arraigned in court in the beginning of the month, facing multiple charges including fraud, money laundering, misappropriation, and computer misuse.

Apart from this role, Farrugia was elected to the Siġġiewi council on the PN ticket and had even contested the general election on the fifth and sixth districts. She had failed to get elected in the general election. 

She resigned from her post on the council after being charged in court with embezzling €2.3 million from MCAST.

Siġġiewi Mayor Julian Borg congratulated Vassallo in a Facebook post.

“Congratulations to Stephanie Vassallo, who was confirmed this morning by the electoral commission that she will form part of the Siġġiewi Local Council. We will certainly continue to work for Siġġiewi together,” he said.

Vassallo is a Money Laundering Reporting Officer at Fexserv Fund Services. She joined the company in 2015 as a fund accountant following previous roles with other operators in the local funds industry.

She also serves as assistant group scout leader of the Siġġiewi scout group.