Clayton Bartolo’s wife received tens of thousands of euros from a private firm which financial investigators suspect was a kickback for a Malta Tourism Authority contract.

Those “suspicious” payments have been flagged to the police by the FIAU, Malta’s anti-money laundering body.

Sources said the payments, which are in the region of “€50,000”, were made to Bartolo's wife Amanda Muscat by a company linked to an MTA contractor over a period of roughly six months. 

Prime Minister Robert Abela took the decision to force Bartolo out as a minister and Labour MP after Times of Malta sent questions querying the matter last week.

The FIAU investigation centred on work Muscat did for a company linked to Italian cyclist Valerio Agnoli in 2023. 

Agnoli was hired by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) in 2021 on an “ad hoc” basis to promote cycling tourism.

The arrangement was formalised last year with Agnoli being put on what a Tourism Ministry spokesperson described as an” all-inclusive remuneration of €20,000 per annum”.

Muscat was hired by an Agnoli-linked company in mid-2023, roughly 18 months after her job as a ministry consultant was terminated.

Her work at the Agnoli-linked company ended in December of that year, a Tourism Ministry spokesperson told Times of Malta.

Reports by the FIAU are only sent to the police when there is a reasonable suspicion of money laundering.

Investigators suspect the payments to Muscat could be a kickback for the MTA contract.

Questions sent to Bartolo by Times of Malta last week triggered his resignation on Tuesday. Bartolo was also made to resign from Labour’s parliamentary group and will now serve as an independent MP.

Abela said that would allow Bartolo to “be better placed to defend himself” from allegations, which he did not specify.

The Italian cyclist describes himself on social media as Visit Malta’s head of sponsorship, a claim refuted by the MTA. 

"Please be advised that Agnoli is engaged with the Malta Tourism Authority on a contract of service for the provision of professional services within the Marketing and Product Directorates. He is, therefore, not Visit Malta’s head of sponsorship," the spokesperson said. 

The MTA said details about the value of Agnoli's contract had already been given to parliament.

Ministry insists no link between Muscat's work and MTA deal

A spokesperson for Bartolo confirmed that his wife was “given work on an assignment basis” by an international company connected to Agnoli.

The work consisted of Muscat “assisting” in a number of cycling related international initiatives in Equatorial Guinea, Italy, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the spokesperson said.

“This assignment had absolutely nothing to do with Malta and bore no relation with the work being done by Agnoli for the MTA.

Clayton Bartolo with Valerio Agnoli in this June 2023 photo. Photo: Facebook

“Muscat was not employed with the said company, but was providing an assignment-based service, as every private citizen has a right to do.

“Indeed, she fulfilled her tax obligations in accordance with her income,” the spokesperson said.

Ministry: ‘Agnoli expertise pivotal’

The Tourism Ministry spokesperson said Agnoli provides his professional services in the product and marketing directorates at the MTA, mainly focusing on cycling tourism.

“He has been pivotal in Visit Malta’s strategy to penetrate the cycling world, notably the Giro D’Italia. He lends his expertise to the MTA in managing its branding partnership with the professional cycling team Eolo-Kometa,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Agnoli’s brief includes the organisation of an annual training camp in Malta, coordinating the activities between the MTA and Vatican Cycling, coordinating the activities relating to the Giro D’Italia, advising the authority on the international cycling world, and assisting the MTA with the development and implementation of cycling tourism product within the Maltese islands.

Times of Malta has sent questions to Agnoli.

The first scandal

The revelation came as Bartolo was already in hot water for a different job given to Muscat.

In 2020, Bartolo made his wife and then-girlfriend a ministry consultant. Muscat was his secretary at the time.

In March 2021, she was transferred to Clint Camilleri’s Gozo Ministry and given a pay bump, shifting her salary up to €68,000 a year.

But in reality, Muscat continued to work as Bartolo’s secretary throughout, while earning a consultant’s salary – including a €20,000-a-year “expertise allowance” that regulations state should only be given in “exceptional circumstances”.

In a report published earlier this month, the Standards Commissioner found no evidence that Muscat – whose sole qualifications were a couple of A levels and whose previous job experience focused on secretarial work – did any consultancy work for either ministry.

Bartolo initially offered a conditional apology for the breach, saying “no one is perfect” and saying calls for him to resign were based on “political spin”.

He did not respond to a request to comment on the most recent allegations but posted a statement on Facebook in which he said he was the one to resign and that the tourism sector had made great strides under his leadership. 

The statement made no reference to allegations concerning him or his wife. 

Reacting to the news, PN leader Bernard Grech said Bartolo's resignation was a good first step but "not enough", renewing his calls for Camilleri to go too. 

Repubblika demands court action 

The rule of law NGO Repubblika on Tuesday wrote to the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner demanding court action against Muscat and Agnoli for criminal association and conspiracy to commit corruption, trading in influence and money laundering.    

The NGO earlier this month also called on the police commissioner to charge Bartolo, Muscat, and Gozo minister Clint Camilleri with misappropriation, fraud, money laundering and embezzlement of public funds as public officials over the consultancy jobs handed to Muscat as shown in the report by the Standards Commissioner. 

Lawyer Jason Azzopardi signed the letter on behalf of Repubblika. 

The Maltese Cycling Federation said in a statement following the Times of Malta revelations that it was never involved in the agreement between the Maltese Tourism Authority and cyclist Valerio Agnoli.