Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri has denied under-declaring his campaign expenses, despite indications of lavish spending.

Camilleri’s sworn declaration to the electoral commission shows he was just €700 short of breaching the €20,000 spending limit.

All candidates are expected to submit a sworn declaration breaking down their income and expenditure during an election campaign.

A glance at the Gozo minister’s social media channels shows he organised at least five rallies during the month-long general election campaign.

The events were held under portable tent structures, decked out with LED screens, a Clint Camilleri branded podium and backdrop, professional lighting and adoring ‘fans’ wearing red Clint Camilleri sweatshirts.

The minister’s final campaign event on March 18 had all the makings of a full-blown party, with a three-strong DJ line-up, free entrance and food

Camilleri listed his hire costs for these events at €4,000, or just €800 per event in rental expenses for the marquee, lighting and “accessories” like chairs and tables.

The cost of the red #TeamClint sweatshirts was not listed in Camilleri’s spending declaration.

When contacted, the minister said he is informed that “members of the public” had come up with the sweatshirt concept on their own initiative.

“I did not buy or sell any sweatshirts,” Camilleri said.

Secretariat invoiced for SMS service

Camilleri also submitted two invoices worth €188.80 to a local company that offers a bulk SMS service.

Instead of the invoices being addressed to Camilleri, they were instead made out in the name of Michael Buhagiar, his head of secretariat.

Camilleri told the electoral commission that the invoices were made out to Buhagiar, who already had an account with the SMS service provider, therefore, this account was used for the SMS service.

The minister’s final campaign event on March 18 had all the makings of a full-blown party, with a three-strong DJ line-up, free entrance and food. 

However, analysis of Camilleri’s declaration shows invoices were only submitted for two of the three DJs. The Gozo minister told Times of Malta that the third DJ in the line-up missed the Gozo ferry, and, hence, the event, so was not paid.

Camilleri said that proof of this is contained in the documentation submitted to the electoral commission as one of the other DJs was paid an extra €100 for overtime to make good for the loss of the other DJ at the party.

€10,000 spent on 'miscellaneous expenses'

The minister racked up €10,232,78 in what was termed in his declaration as “miscellaneous expenses”, including €5,499.98 paid to a marketing company for the “audio-visual package” for his campaign.

On the advertising front, Camilleri declared he spent €3,929.38 in the form of sponsored content on MaltaToday and Facebook.

His total declared spend came in at €19,203.38, with the minister telling the electoral commission that the entire campaign was self-funded.

This means Camilleri spent the equivalent of around one-third of his €60,000 ministerial salary on the campaign.

Camilleri’s latest asset declarations show a big campaign spend is well within his means. At the end of December 2021, Camilleri had €183,000 in bank deposits and shares in over 20 properties dotted around Gozo and Malta.