Leaked email signals alarm on dwindling PN funds

In an email sent to opposition leader Adrian Delia by the PN's treasurer last summer, alarms were sounded: party finances would last up until February 2019.

According to a story by The Sunday Times of Malta, a party spokesperson told the paper that finances have improved and that the party "would definitely not run dry in the coming months."

This comes in the midst of a recent leak of phone conversations that revealed how party leader Delia tried to raise funds by pleading for a massive €5.6 million 'cedoli' issue to insurance firm Global Capital.

The leaked email was sent by PN treasurer David Camilleri to Delia last August. It said that "money for loans/arrears repayments will dry up on February 19."

A PN spokesperson told The Sunday Times of Malta, however, that funds had "drastically improved" since then, with money raised through "financial solutions" and recurring fundraising activities.

The spokesperson also reminded the paper that Delia had, of course, inherited a difficult financial situation within the party, but that the leader was going through with a 10-year plan to secure funds and provide payment for debts.

The leaked email in August also made reference to six properties owned by the party, and stressed the importance of generating income from said properties across Malta.

The email contemplates the fate of the party’s Vittoriosa club due to the urgent need for cash.

The correspondence also painted a dire picture of the party’s financial readiness for the upcoming local council and MEP election campaigns.

At the time of Camilleri's email, the PN had started an initiative, a 'maduma' (tile) initiative of selling tiles at €500 apiece, used as part of a mosaic displayed at Dar Centrali, the party's headquarters.

The treasurer warned in the leaked correspondence of limiting the use of printed material for the upcoming election campaigns, to be frugal at a time when funds were running desperately low.

“MEP candidates should pay for their own marketing material if they would like to distribute to households. Apparently the party used to pay for all material,” the email said.

It also advised on stricter procedures to be put in place, preventing backers from overstating the amount of their donations during fundraising activities.

Before being broadcast, all donations had to be verified by officials.

It was the treasurer, in the leaked email, who first brought up the PN's controversial 'cedoli' scheme, urging the party to return to this possibility, a scheme which was harshly censured by the Labour party since it circumnavigated party financing rules.

PN supporters and investors were encouraged to lend the PN small sums of money, up to €10,000, in return for 4% interest per year and the return of their capital after 10 years.

In a statement, members of the PN’s financial committee assured that it was aware “of all financial initiatives”.