Joseph Muscat dismisses claims of involvement in Fortina deal

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has lashed out at the National Audit Office (NAO) following its damning report into the 2019 Fortina deal, questioning its methodology and accusing it of unfairly placing responsibility on a deceased judge.

Reacting to the audit’s findings, Muscat said that had the NAO found any evidence of his direct role, it would have clearly stated so. He criticised the report as “lacking in method” and accused it of contradicting both past NAO calculations and existing legislation governing land valuations. Muscat also took issue with the way the report referred to the late judge Lino Farrugia Sacco, who chaired the Lands Authority at the time, arguing that it was unfair to burden responsibility on someone no longer able to defend himself.

The NAO investigation, tabled in parliament on Monday, examined a 2019 deed that lifted restrictions on land previously granted to the Fortina Group in Sliema. By waiving conditions that had limited the use of the land to hotel development, the government paved the way for a €55 million mixed-use project.

The report concluded that the Fortina Group paid €8.1 million for the waivers, far below independent valuations that put the figure at up to €23.9 million. It highlighted serious governance failures, including the concealment of the higher valuation by Farrugia Sacco and former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri, who the NAO said was aware of the discrepancy but claimed to have no recollection of key developments.

The NAO said the process was marred by misleading terms of reference, leaks of confidential valuations to Fortina, and efforts to keep parliament and ministers in the dark when approving the deal. It recommended that “pertinent authorities” launch further investigations into the transaction, raising the possibility of criminal proceedings.

Parliament approved the rescission of land conditions in July 2019, with government MPs voting in favour and the Opposition opposing.