AD's Carmel Cacopardo asks Standards Commissioner to investigate Muscat's €20,000 Bvlgari gift

Alternattiva Demokratika Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo has written to Standards Commissioner George Hyzler to investigate outgoing Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his observance of the code of ethics with reference to him receiving a €20,000 Bvlgari watch from Yorgen Fenech.

Fenech, the former Tumas magnate and Electrogas shareholder, now stands accused of masterminding the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

In 2013, it was also a timepiece that landed former PN minister Tonio Fenech in hot water when he received an 'arlogg tal-Lira' from oil trader George Farrugia who was granted a pardon to turn State’s evidence in the Enemalta kickbacks scandal.

Cacopardo took to Facebook on Christmas eve to say that he wrote to Standards Commissioner to investigate Muscat and the white-gold watch. 

On 19 December, Hyzler had reacted to a statement by AD, saying that contrary to what the green party was saying, his office was revising the code of ethics and developing proposals on lobbying and revolving doors. 

Hyzler had met with AD on the party's request to discuss the issue of lobbying and during the meeting, the Commissioner had informed the delegation from AD that his office was in the process of finalising some proposals to regulate lobbying as well as revising the code of ethics for ministers and members of Parliament. 

"The proposals on all these subjects will be issued by the end of January 2020 for public consultation," the Standards Commission had said in a statement.

READ ALSO: €20,000 Bvlgari watch Yorgen Fenech gave to Joseph Muscat for Christmas

Muscat's Bvlgari watch according to reports is emblazoned with the Malta and EU flags to mark the 10th anniversary of Malta’s accession to the EU, and was one of 25 watches acquired by the magnate’s late father George Fenech, who died in December 2014. The watch was said to have been a gift for Christmas.

According to Lovin Malta, the watch was number 17 of the limited edition: ironically, the same number of Fenech’s offshore company in Dubai, 17 Black - said to have been George Fenech’s lucky number at the roulette table - now revealed to have been connected to the secret Panama offshore companies opened by Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.