A police superintendent who was fired after being accused of ethical breaches has started legal proceedings to sue the government for damages, noting that Robert Abela “completely absolved” ministers Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri when they breached ethics.

Maurice Curmi, the former high-ranking police officer, is arguing that the “two weights, two measures” adopted in his case and that involving the two ministers is a form of discrimination against him.

The two ministers were found to have abused their power when they employed Bartolo’s wife on a €68,000-a-year contract as a consultant, despite her not being qualified for the role and only showing evidence of carrying out secretarial duties.

Amanda Muscat was handed a consultancy role and was transferred, on paper, to Camilleri’s ministry while actually continuing to work as secretary to Bartolo, observed parliament’s standards commissioner, Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi.

In a judicial protest filed against the prime minister, police commissioner and state advocate, Curmi has argued that Muscat’s phantom job clearly masked a criminal conspiracy involving misappropriation and fraud, all “under the blessings of the prime minister.”

The prime minister was aware of that phantom job paid out of public coffers, yet reacted to the commissioner’s findings saying that an apology issued by Bartolo was “sufficient.”

A different yardstick was applied to Curmi.  

Curmi joined the police in 1991 and worked his way up the ranks. But in October 2023 he was suspended by the police chief over allegations of breach of ethics, after Times of Malta revealed that he had tested positive for cocaine. 

Curmi denies all criminal wrongdoing.

In his judicial protest, Curmi noted that information about him had been leaked to the media two days before he was formally suspended on October 18. Two weeks later, on November 2, the police superintendent was charged with a raft of breaches of police ethics.

He was subsequently dismissed on June 25, 2024. His dismissal was approved by the prime minister.

Since then, the former superintendent has filed court proceedings seeking judicial review of the authorities’ decision and requesting revocation of the dismissal which he claims to be unlawful.

Following the prime minister’s reaction to the standards commissioner’s report, Curmi has taken additional legal action over the discrimination he claims to have suffered at the hands of the authorities.

He is holding both the prime minister and the police commissioner responsible for damages.

The European Convention on Human Rights prohibits every form of discrimination, stating that “no one shall be discriminated against by any public authority on any ground.”

Yet the prime minister, as a public authority par excellence, “completely absolved” his two ministers who, as top public officials, were expected to lead by example. 

Not only did he not fire them or order disciplinary action against them, but he even said that an apology was “sufficient,” thus forgiving the “flagrant breach of ethics” confirmed by the standards commissioner.

On the other hand, Curmi insists that he committed no criminal wrongdoing and was not judged by an independent authority.

Yet he was targeted by disciplinary action and dismissed. The police commissioner took the decision. The prime minister confirmed it.

The former superintendent lost his job as well as his 25-year service pension after his long-standing “impeccable” service to the corps.

Such discrimination “could not be clearer,” protested Curmi, adding that such two weights two measures treatment “touched a sore point.”

He was thus calling upon the prime minister and the police chief responsible to reverse their decisions resulting in his dismissal, holding them responsible in damages whilst reserving the right to take further judicial action.

Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Mary Rose Micallef signed the judicial protest filed before the First Hall, Civil Court.