The case against President George Abela’s former right-hand man Olaf Terribile has been closed since November, even though government officials never volunteered the information.
Last July, Dr Abela set up an inquiry board to investigate whether his secretary had leaked confidential documents to the press. Mr Terribile had left his position in June.
The inquiry’s findings were never made public but were passed on to the Attorney General to see what action to take.
Now, the Principal Permanent Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, Godwin Grima, has confirmed that the Attorney General referred the case to the Public Service Commission but no action was taken.
“A decision was given by the PSC on November 18 stating that no action could be taken against Mr Terribile,” Dr Grima told The Times, after questions were sent to him, to the Attorney General and to the Office of the Prime Minister.
Dr Grima added that Mr Terribile, who had been redeployed in the civil service within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has now requested to be assigned to the Diplo foundation – a training academy for diplomats.
“This request is being considered,” he said.
The information comes as Foreign Minister Tonio Borg last week gave the first official confirmation that Mr Terribile did not face disciplinary action over the allegations.
He was asked about the case after an unrelated press conference in which he gave an overview of his ministry’s work throughout the year.
“He (Mr Terribile) is not facing any disciplinary action and so there is no reason why he should not have returned to the ministry where he used to work,” Dr Borg said when asked whether he could trust an official who had been ousted by the President.
Dr Borg also pointed out that Mr Terribile had returned to a job that was below the grade he had occupied before moving to the President’s office.
Last year, sources had told The Times that the Attorney General’s office recommended disciplinary action be taken.
Case closed
However, the Public Service Commission had not pursued any disciplinary action after deciding the case was time-barred, something that the sources said was contested by both the Attorney General and civil service head Godwin Grima.
Nothing official has ever been said about the case, with all the main actors choosing to keep silent. It is not known what Mr Terribile may have done for the AG to have seen grounds for disciplinary proceedings to start against him.
Dr Abela called a press conference last July in which he declared that he had lost confidence in his head of secretariat and called for an inquiry.
The President said it came to his attention that Mr Terribile may have leaked confidential documents to the press in the wake of a series of newspaper reports alleging financial irregularities within the Office of the President.
Mr Terribile had stopped working with the presidential office a month before and the allegations against him were originally made by the President’s public relations officer, Marica Mizzi.
She had said that during a state dinner she was told Mr Terribile had tried to pass on confidential documents to reporters. The person Ms Mizzi said had given her the information later declared he had not accepted documents from Mr Terribile.