Police report on Busuttil’s car ‘wasn’t criminal complaint’ says Speaker

Simon Busuttil was forced to suspend his chauffeur after the parliamentary accounts office established a pattern of car mileage that was far below the maximum amount of fuel allowance being claimed from the Parliament office.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia (front, left) and Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil (front, right)
Speaker Anglu Farrugia (front, left) and Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil (front, right)

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anglu Farrugia, has denied having filed a criminal complaint with the police over the alleged misrepresentation of fuel consumption for the car of the Opposition leader.

Simon Busuttil was forced to suspend his chauffeur after the parliamentary accounts office established a pattern of car mileage that was far below the maximum amount of fuel allowance being claimed from the Parliament office.

In what turned out to be an embarrassingly-timed revelation, it came just one day after Busuttil launched on Sunday a good governance pledge of 109 proposals in a vow to clean up politics.

But Farrugia has told MaltaToday that he was not aware that his police report had escalated into a magisterial inquiry.

“Together with the head of corporate services and the Clerk of the House, it was our collegial decision to refer the mismatch of mileage with fuel costs claimed to the police: we felt that it had to be a credible, public authority that could establish whether a technical issue – let’s say, a car engine problem – was responsible for this discrepancy,” Farrugia said.

He said that at no time had his office made a report alleging fraud. “Ours was not a criminal complaint,” Farrugia insisted.

The Speaker said he learnt of the magisterial inquiry from Opposition leader Simon Busuttil himself, who emailed him the news that he had suspended his driver and was pledging full cooperation with the inquiry.

“I learnt from the police inspector, upon checking, that he had referred the matter to a duty magistrate, in a bid to appoint court experts who could verify for themselves the issue of the car mileage,” Farrugia told this newspaper.

The Speaker added that if experts find a problem in the car – some sources suggested that an engine fault or a recalibration issue could be the problem – he would take the matter back to his accounts office.

Police commissioner Michael Cassar refrained to provide answers on when and who filed the report and when was the inquiry ordered. “As you well know, an investigation is underway and no information can be given,” Cassar said. 

MaltaToday understands that the issue of Busuttil’s chauffeur-driven car is based on two years of fuel consumption figures.

Under government rules, Busuttil’s office has to procure its fuel from a designated petrol pump station, which on its part records each single transaction of fuel.

Busuttil’s office must also submit mileage readings. On the part of parliament’s accounts office, the discrepancy is based on the fact that the Opposition leader’s mileage may fall well below the maximum amount of fuel being claimed.

At worst, the matter would be a case of fuel being dispensed for more than one car using the same budget. But that would require the cooperation of the fuel pumping station in question, which so far has not been identified by either the Opposition or the Speaker’s office.

At best, the mileage not tallying with the fuel dispensed could be a case of engine over-consumption.

What is known so far is that Busuttil says it was previously aware, in the days before the PN launched its good governance pledge on Sunday, that the parliamentary accounts office was inquiring about his official car’s fuel consumption. 

Busuttil says he was not told officially of a police report or magisterial inquiry. 

On Monday, Busuttil announced that a magisterial inquiry had been launched, something the PN learnt through unofficial sources; and added that he had suspended his driver, who denied any irregularities, and that he had filed a judicial writ pledging full cooperation with Magistrate Claire Zammit Stafrace.

Yesterday morning, Anglu Farrugia issued a statement rubbishing suggestions made by Busuttil that the investigation by the parliamentary accounts office was an act of ‘political vindictiveness’ emanating from his ruling on the Opposition’s complaint about a threat made against independent MP Marlene Farrugia.

Busuttil claimed that the fuel investigation came hot on the heels of a motion presented by the Opposition in protest at the Speaker’s ruling, which failed to censure Labour MP Joe Debono Grech, who was accused of making the verbal threat.

The Speaker however said that he gave the instructions “well before the Opposition presented its motion” and “well before the publication of the good governance report”.

In response, the Nationalist Party accused Farrugia of “sensationalism” and reiterated that the timing was “too much of a coincidence”.