Hotelier and former Malta Tourism Authority acting CEO George Micallef has been elected president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, despite the fact that he faces criminal proceedings in connection with the pre-election Mistra disco controversy.

He was uncontested and was elected for two years with an option of an extension for another year.

Mr Micallef, who is also president of the Malta Business Bureau, is charged with making a false declaration in October 2007. He faces up to two years' imprisonment if found guilty.

The Mistra case hit the headlines before the last general election in March 2008 when the Labour Party accused Nationalist Party MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, who owns the land on which the dispute centres, of corruption.

When Mr Micallef was first charged, police inspector Ian Abdilla had testified that the accused told police he had been asked by Dr Pullicino Orlando to write a favourable report on the proposed project.

Mr Micallef had acted as a consultant for Dr Pullicino Orlando but had also authored a report in favour of the project as an official of the Malta Tourism Authority.

When contacted yesterday, MHRA chief executive George Schembri said the council had never discussed the case.

He defended Mr Micallef, saying he was a hard-working person and had served on the council for several years.

Mr Schembri said the fact that the case was pending meant that Mr Micallef was still innocent until proven guilty.

"You cannot judge somebody before the case is concluded.

"Mr Micallef's pending case was never an issue for the council," he said.