Ian Borg’s hefty loans and his “spouse in catering”, Miriam Dalli’s impressive savings and the wealth of properties owned by two Gozitan ministers are some of the insights gleaned into cabinet members’ finances this week. 

The declarations, which cover the year between March 2022 and 2023, were tabled in parliament on Monday and detail the financial holdings of members of the Abela cabinet. 

Who declared what and how do they compare to the year before? 

Robert Abela

Prime Minister Robert Abela did not declare how much he is paid as head of government, simply listing “salary of the prime minister” on his declaration form. 

Times of Malta last year reported his salary as being €63,000, but this was based on his 2020 tax return. 

While last year Abela declared an unspecified amount of rental income, this year he did not list income from rental properties. He declared three properties: an apartment in Marsascala and properties in Żejtun and Xewkija.

He also holds over €388,000 in savings split across five accounts in three local banks. 

Abela’s portfolio of financial holdings grew significantly from 2021 to 2022, gaining additional government shares worth €20,000. He continues to hold stakes in Hili Properties plc and HSBC Bank Malta. 

Chris Fearne

Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne declared an income of €65,532 in 2022. He has €123,580 deposited in a joint account for personal use, while his wife holds an account with a further €153,802. 

The couple’s deposits were up by over a combined €50,000 from 2021, while their investments with Lombard Bank decreased by around €20,000 each. 

Fearne and his wife have each invested €160,416 in Lombard’s investment portfolio. 

He holds an additional €20,000 in government stock, €25,690 in APS Bonds and €41,851 in BOV’s Lifelink fund.    

Fearne, a surgeon, also owns three properties and did not declare having any home loans. These include his family home in Tarxien, a nearby garage and a farmhouse in Żejtun’s Bir id-Deheb.

Byron Camilleri

Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri declared a ministerial salary of €65,533 in 2022.

Camilleri’s deposits remained relatively stable, growing by nearly €4,000 to €91,226 in his own name. But savings in a joint account with his wife leapt from €1,455 in 2021 to €40,800 last year.

The minister listed part-ownerships in two properties; he declared a 3/4 share of one Fgura property and a 2/11th share in another in the same locality. 

He also declared a life insurance policy worth just over €3,500.

Ian Borg

Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg declared a salary of €65,731 and rental income of €6,000 for the year 2022.

That year, the former infrastructure minister’s number of properties increased to include commercial premises in Dingli. 

This latest acquisition joins a portfolio that includes a leased apartment and an office in the same locality, agricultural land, a Rabat office and his matrimonial home, also in Rabat.  

As for 2021, Borg declared simply that he has a “spouse in catering” and no separation of assets.

He declared €22,994 in bank deposits, while his loans ballooned from €282,352 in 2021 to over €541,000 in 2022.

Miriam Dalli

Energy and Environment Minister Miriam Dalli’s declared salary was €65,531 in 2022. 

Her considerable savings grew by over €20,000 to €444,653 last year, which she specified includes accounts belonging to her children. 

The lawyer and former MEP declared one property – an apartment in Mosta – and said she has no outstanding bank loans. 

Silvio Schembri

Economy Minister Silvio Schembri declared a salary of €65,531 in 2022 and one property which he listed as his matrimonial home. 

While he and his wife’s combined savings grew by around €15,000 from the previous year to €121,131, Schembri’s loans increased significantly. 

In 2021, he had listed a home loan of €13,670, while for last year he declared a “private loan” of €80,000.

He retained his investment portfolio from the year before, which includes shares in BOV and MIDI plc among others. 

Schembri also declared shares in DZF Ltd, a company wholly owned by his wife Deandra Schembri, though he did not specify the value of the shares as he had for his other investments. 

Clint Camilleri 

Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri is one of the cabinet ministers with the most properties to his name.

In addition to his income of €90,587 – made up of ministerial income, property rentals, dividends and “feed-in tariff” – the minister declared he owns a staggering 20 properties across Malta and Gozo. These include a penthouse, other residential properties and garages.

Camilleri specifies that three were purchased, one inherited from his mother, and the remaining 16 were acquired through inheritance from his father’s side of the family. 

For 2022, he declared investments made with Michael Grech Financial Investment Services Ltd and in HSBC’s Malta Government Bond Fund, as well as deposits of €130,441 in accounts with BOV and HSBC.

Anton Refalo

Fellow Gozitan and property owner Anton Refalo, the minister for agriculture, saw both his income and property portfolio increase considerably last year. 

He declared a joint income with his spouse of €180,481 in 2022, a figure up just over €20,000 from the year before. 

Refalo also saw his number of properties increase to at least 23, including offices and apartments in both Malta and Gozo. 

His outstanding bank loans also increased by just under €30,000 to €437,578. 

As in Clint Camilleri’s case, the minister owns so many properties they had to be submitted in a separate document.  

Owen Bonnici 

Heritage Minister Owen Bonnici declared an annual income of €65,222 for 2022.  

His property assets remained the same as the year before, comprising two interconnected apartments in Valletta and a share of a property in Żejtun. 

Bonnici’s deposits took a hit from 2021 to 2022; the amount in his BOV savings account reduced by almost 50 per cent to €21,902 while his current account remained relatively unchanged at €949. 

The minister’s two BOV loans also remained at similar levels, dropping by around one thousand euros each to €52,366 and €67,676.   

Bonnici also declared being the honorary president of a band club, a boċċi club and a regatta club.  

Julia Farrugia Portelli  

Minister for Inclusion Julia Farrugia Portelli declared a government salary of €65,288 for 2022. 

While property declarations remained the same from the year before – including a residential property in Rabat, a place in Qrendi and a clinic in Balzan – her financial interests saw considerable rises.  

Her total declared savings increased by just under €35,000 to €112,441, while she paid off just over €10,000 in loans from 2021, leaving her with €272,896 outstanding.  

As for the year before, in 2022 she was the honorary president of Qrendi football club and Birzebbuga football club.  

Aaron Farrugia  

Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia declared a government salary of €65,596 for 2022 and did not list any directorships or bonds and shares for the same year. 

The minister’s bank deposits dipped slightly to an exact €10,000, while his outstanding loan was reduced by just over seven and a half thousand to €232,450. 

He listed one property, his matrimonial home in Żebbuġ.   

Michael Falzon 

Family Minister Michael Falzon said his only income was his ministerial salary of €65,532. He crossed out the section on loans writing “not applicable”.   

His property portfolio remained the same, which includes his matrimonial home in Żebbuġ and a plot of agricultural land in Baħrija in the limits of Rabat. 

His bond holdings also remained unchanged, with 4,000 shares invested with Middle Sea Insurance plc and 11,370 shares held in BOV. 

Falzon declared considerable bank deposits with BOV in both euros and sterling, totalling €481,316 and £127,982. His deposits in euros dropped by around ten thousand from the year before.  

Roderick Galdes 

Housing Minister Roderick Galdes received a salary of €65,532 in 2022, and paid off around ten thousand euros in personal loans, bringing the figure down to €248,989.  

Meanwhile, the minister’s bank deposits grew considerably, from €23,590 in 2021 to €70,447 in 2022, with an additional £6,725.  

Clayton Bartolo 

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo declared no income above his wage as a minister of €65,522 in 2022. 

His property and investment holdings remained unchanged from the year before, including an apartment and garage in his home locality of Mellieħa and 400 shares in Datatrak plc.  

His bank deposits grew modestly by around three thousand to €42,499 while his outstanding loan shrunk by around five thousand to €250,827.  

Clyde Caruana 

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana earned €65,428 as a minister and listed no further income for 2022, having left his role as visiting professor at the University of Malta as declared for 2021.   

His bank deposits grew by around €17,000 to €203,140, while his outstanding loan with APS was reduced slightly to €307,682 in 2022.  

He listed only one residential property in Kalkara.   

Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi 

Planning Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi declared a government income of €64,978 for 2022 and did not list any other sources of income.    

His family’s detailed financial holdings, listed in a separate document, show that from 2021 to 2022 the minister and his wife Silvana invested in APS Bank, acquiring 5,100 shares.  

His wife also acquired 20,000 shares of government stock.  

In the property section, Zrinzo Azzopardi has an emphyteusis on a Naxxar house. 

Clifton Grima 

Education Minister Clifton Grima listed a salary of €65,539 for 2022 and did not list any other form of income.  

His property portfolio remained the same as in 2021, comprising a home and garage in Birkirkara and an apartment in St Julian's, as did his having declared no shares or bonds.  

Grima’s bank deposits were reduced by around three thousand euros to €28,707. 

The period from 2021 to 2022 saw sizeable reductions in the minister’s outstanding loans, with his BOV home loan dropping by around four thousand euros to €137,562 and his family loan falling by a whopping €85,000 to €125,000.  

Jonathan Attard 

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard declared a combined income of €130,839 for 2022, although he did not itemise his various income streams.  

His total income was spread across his government salaries as both a minister and an MP prior to his appointment in March last year and included money gained from rental income.  

He declared owning two properties in Mellieħa: his home and a separate apartment.  

While his joint property loans were reduced by around €13,000 to €570,799, his bank deposits shrunk by almost €100,000 to €264,103. 

Jo Etienne Abela 

Active Ageing Minister Jo Etienne Abela was new to the cabinet in 2022, and declared his government income together with his role as a consultant at Mater Dei from January to March last year as €66,782. 

His other income comprising of a visiting senior lecturer position at the University of Malta and his work in private practice added an additional €67,350, giving him a total income for 2022 of €134,132. 

He declared having bank accounts with HSBC in both Malta and the UK, holding an impressive €279,027 and £3,942 respectively. He declared an additional 60 euros in a BOV account and an outstanding Visa Gold credit card balance of £2,576 in the UK.  

Before taking on his ministerial role, he was a post-graduate training coordinator in surgery, according to his declaration.  

Etienne Abela registered no outstanding loans aside from the balance on his credit card in the UK.  

Andy Ellul 

Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue and government whip Andy Ellul declared an impressive income of €95,959 for 2022. This was divided amongst his salary as an MP prior to his appointment, his role as parliamentary secretary and his professional work in law.  

His declaration of immovables remained the same as for 2021, comprising half a Madliena property and an office block in Paola.   

Ellul appears to have relinquished ownership of his half of a cabin cruiser from 2021, with this not appearing on his form for 2022.  

He retained full ownership of the consultancy business Lex Group Ltd, while his outstanding loans shrunk slightly to €71,462. 

Alison Zerafa Civelli

 

Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government Alison Zerafa Civelli declared a government salary of €57,135.  

Her property portfolio remained the same as the year before, comprising a residence in Kalkara and an apartment in Xaghra, Gozo. 

Zerafa Civelli’s financial deposits grew by around €17,000 to €143,969, while her outstanding loans dropped by around the same amount to €203,066.  

Alicia Bugeja Said 

Fisheries Parliamentary Secretary Alicia Bugeja Said declared a government salary of €53,681 and did not list any other form of income.  

She retained her property and investment holdings, which include a flat in Mġarr and a total of €15,000 held in accounts with MSV Life and Vilhena Funds.  

Her bank deposits increased by over €20,000 to €155,000 and she did not list any outstanding loans.  

Chris Bonett 

Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds Chris Bonett declared a government income of €64,510 for 2022.  

As in 2021, he said he had no investments or immovable property.   

His bank deposits with BOV decreased by around €20,000 to €32,713, while his overseas pension fund in Swiss francs remained the same as in 2021 at CHF 3,465. 

Bonett appears to have cleared his outstanding loan listed in 2021, declaring no such loan for 2022.  

Rebecca Buttigieg 

Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms Rebecca Buttigieg declared a government salary of €53,256 in 2022.  

Her property declaration remained the same, listing a Mosta apartment. She declared no financial investments.  

Buttigieg’s bank deposits grew by around €6,000 to €48,389, while her outstanding loan shrunk slightly to €76,327. 

Keith Azzopardi Tanti

 

Parliamentary Secretary for Youth Keith Azzopardi Tanti declared a government salary of €48,386 for 2022, and an additional “other income” of €19,464. 

He retained his property in Pieta, as well as the three per cent government stock of €20,300 listed for 2021.  

Azzopardi Tanti’s bank deposits shrunk by just over four thousand to €13,234.