Standards Commissioner irked as OPM refuses to publish ministers’ full asset declarations

Updated at 6:57pm with Momentum statement

The Standards Commissioner has taken Prime Minister Robert Abela to task for refusing to submit his cabinet’s asset declarations.

In his letter, Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi said that Abela and the rest of cabinet did not declare their assets in 2024 in the way that cabinet members usually do. Instead, they only filled in the parliamentary declarations, which are subject to less scrutiny than ministerial declarations.

Last year, the commissioner urged Abela to publish the asset declarations of all cabinet members for 2023. Abela had replied with proposed changes to the current practice, proposing that all MPs, including ministers, submit a single annual asset declaration, which would be tabled in parliament.

An OPM spokesperson told MaltaToday that the government will be moving ahead with this proposal to change the asset declaration system and the Code of Ethics for MPs.

In his letter on Thursday, Azzopardi reminded Abela that he had urged him to table the 2023 ministerial asset declarations, but this was never done.

He had then requested the 2024 ministerial asset declarations form the Cabinet Secretary, but received no reply.

After trying to contact Abela directly, Azzopardi received a reply from the Cabinet Secretary telling him that Cabinet decided on a singular declaration form for all MPs, that cabinet members had declared their assets earlier in 2025, and that the code of ethics surrounding such declarations would be changed.

“I take it from the Cabinet Secretary’s letter that you and your ministers have not declared your assets in 2024, and have only filled in the declaration required by all MPs,” he told Abela.

The commissioner worriedly said that this implies that cabinet members will no longer declare their income, investments, and bank accounts held by their partners, as they were previously required to do.

“Therefore, transparency within the leadership of the public sector has taken a big step back. This sends a very negative message,” he added.

The commissioner explained that MPs’ asset declarations aren’t made public, whereas cabinet’s declarations were published.

OPM says asset declaration system will be reformed

In comments to MaltaToday, the Office of the Prime Minister said the commissioner’s concerns will be addressed by changes to the asset declaration system which will be proposed by the government.

“The changes will consist in a single declaration, which shall apply to all members of parliament without the existing distinctions,” an OPM spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said all Cabinet members have declared their assets and interests to the Speaker. These declarations are accessable by the public and the media.

“The government is also planning to make changes to the Code of Ethics of Members of Parliament, particularly in light of the recent stand adopted by the Commissioner for Standards that members of Parliament are not obliged to be honest and stick to the truth.” 

PN: ‘Another blow to transparency’

Reacting to the commissioner’s letter, the Nationalist Party said the government’s actions are not acceptable in a democracy that demands the highest level of transparency from those in positions of leadership.

“This effectively means that Ministers will no longer be declaring their income, nor the financial investments and bank accounts held by their spouses – information which is required in the Ministers’ form but not in that of MPs.”

The PN said it aligns itself with the commissioner’s position. “Our country cannot withstand any further blows to transparency and governance. Our people deserve far better.”

PL: All assets declared in parliament

Meanwhile, the Labour Party is defending the Cabinet's decision and criticising the PN's statement. It argued that all Cabinet members have declared their assets to parliament already and the government will reform the declaration system.

"The Nationalist Party speaks about standards in public life according to what suits it and according to who is involved. The inconsistency of the Nationalist Party is most evident when the Leader of the Opposition himself was found not to have told the truth when he was talking about the agreement regarding Fort Chambray," the party said.

"And the PN did not hesitate to take advantage of the decision of the Commissioner for Standards when he said that he did not have the tools to find the Leader of the Opposition guilty when he repeated false statements about generic medicine."

Momentum: Malta cannot afford leaders who hide their wealth

Reacting to the open letter, Momentum accused government of weakening transparency, adding that this represents a shift away from long-established practices.

Momentum also repeated concerns it had raised regarding unpublished ministerial asset declarations.

"While the Office of the Prime Minister claims that declarations are accessible through the Speaker, the Standards Commissioner has clearly stated that MPs’ declarations are not made public in the same way ministerial declarations were."

The party added that the commissioner has confirmed ministers are technically in breach of their own code of ethics, which requires annual asset declarations to be submitted to the Cabinet Secretary. However, Momentum pointed out that no action can be taken in this instance due to the commissioner’s lack of authority to investigate Cabinet decisions