Dutch MP Pieter Omtzigt said that had Rosianne Cutajar still formed part of Malta’s delegation to the Council of Europe another complaint about her “would have been justified” following the publication of leaked WhatsApp messages that uncovered the extent of her relationship with murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.
The chats, which detail an intense relationship between Cutajar and Fenech and have raised questions of trading in influence, were exchanged at a time when the Labour MP was publicly dismissing calls to investigate corruption linked to Fenech, hot on the heels of him having been outed as the owner of the secret company 17 Black.
Such a relationship should either have been mentioned, as Mr Fenech is mentioned in my report, or she could have chosen not to take the floor at all.- Dutch MP Peter Omtzigt
In June 2019, Cutajar had ardently criticised a report by Omtzigt about the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the state of rule of law in Malta at the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly.
She was subsequently found to have been in “serious breach” of the code of conduct that governs MPs in the assembly in view of her failing to declare her business relationship with Fenech.
Omtzigt had filed a complaint against Cutajar after Times of Malta revealed how she had received a €9,000 “gift” from Fenech weeks after she was at the Strasbourg assembly downplaying 17 Black and other corruption scandals linked to the Labour government.
“She has been found to have been in serious breach of the code of conduct for failing to declare her business relationship with Mr Fenech after my complaint.
“The committee had no way to punish her as she had quickly resigned from the assembly,” Omtzigt said in comments to Times of Malta.
Omtzigt had filed a complaint against Cutajar after Times of Malta revealed how she had received a €9,000 “gift” from Fenech weeks after she was at the Strasbourg assembly downplaying 17 Black and other corruption scandals linked to the Labour government.“The relationship seems to have been a lot more than a business relationship, judged by the leaked messages. Such a relationship should either have been mentioned, as Mr Fenech is mentioned in my report, or she could have chosen not to take the floor at all.”
He said that Cutajar had “misled the assembly” and that, had she remained a member, it would have merited further complaints.
“I can safely assume that the relationship was a motivation to attack my report in the assembly,” Omtzigt said.
“But since she is no longer a member and I do not expect that she will join again, it will have no material effect.
“It may be up to the Maltese parliament or speaker of the parliament to consider action as she was formally representing Malta in the parliamentary assembly.”