A property in Għajn Riħana which was reported to the European Anti-Fraud Office by an MEP candidate on grounds that it is a villa built through EU funds meant for a sheep farm, is actually a fully-fledged farm with close to 100 sheep and an up-and-running milk production facility, Times of Malta can confirm after a site visit.

The farm, run by Kurt Buhagiar, the developer of the Corradino site that claimed the life of Jean Paul Sofia in 2022, was reported to OLAF by PN MEP candidate Peter Agius who demanded an investigation into the alleged fraud of EU funds.

Times of Malta visited the farm on the outskirts of Naxxar last week following claims by Agius that a villa had been built with EU funds meant to finance the construction of a sheep farm. Agius claimed that Buhagiar used €360,000 of EU funds to construct a villa despite having applied for the money to build the farm. 

The sheep farm constructed with EU funds on the outskirts of Naxxar.

He alleged that Buhagiar benefitted from three injections of EU funds which were used to “construct a private residence and ancillary holdings under the guise of a goat farm”.

But a visit to the farm and an evaluation of the documents seen by Times of Malta showed that the facility was fully licensed, with all sheep registered with the Veterinary Department and an approved Dairy Products Establishment registration. 

Touring the facility with Buhagiar, he explained how he purchased the land more than nine years ago out of his love for sheep and the production of cheese. He attended several courses at the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology to beef up his knowledge on the subject. 

He confirmed that he had first applied for EU funds in February 2017 and was granted almost €62,050 in EU funds for the restoration of rubble walls around his parcel of land. He forked out the remaining 20 per cent of the cost of the project. This application was approved in May 2018. 

PN candidate Peter Agius and developer Kurt Buhagiar (inset).

In September 2019, he again applied for EU funds to cover the expenses related to the construction of the sheep farm. This was approved at the end of March 2020, and he received 50 per cent in EU funding, amounting to €150,000, with the remainder being private funding. 

The construction phase of the project was completed in March 2022. 

A few months later, in September, he filed the final application for funds to part-finance the purchase of modern equipment and machinery at the sheep farm. 

The milk parlour equipment was financed through EU funds.

This application was approved in January last year and the equipment was purchased by September. He received 50 per cent in EU funds, amounting to just over €146,600. 

He said the Agriculture and Rural Payments Agency and the EU Funds Managing Authority visited the premises several times to check that what had been constructed and the equipment tallied with the approved plans. 

He also received regular visits from government vets and lab technicians including a private company nominated by the sheep cooperative of which he is a member, who regularly take samples of the milk to ascertain its quality as well as blood tests to determine any diseases such as brucellosis and tuberculosis.

Buhagiar vehemently denied Agius’s claims about his “close links” to the authorities which enabled him to receive the maximum European agricultural funds available that were managed by the EU Funds Managing Authority. He said he applied for EU funds just like any other producer and benefitted from the funds because his project and detailed plans made him eligible for funding. 

“I love these animals, from when I was a little boy. I have a passion for cheese production, and I will soon start another course at MCAST to garner more knowledge on this subject,” Buhagiar said. 

“Had Peter Agius bothered to come here, I would have welcomed him and shown him round the premises like I did with you. He is still welcome to visit to see how this is a sheep farm and not a villa as he is claiming,” he continued. 

The sheep at the Għajn Riħana facility.

Along with fellow Corradino developer Matthew Schembri, Buhagiar faces criminal charges of involuntary homicide in relation to the collapse of a timber factory development in December 2022 that buried six people and killed 20-year-old Sofia. Through his lawyers Franco Debono and Arthur Azzopardi, he is pleading not guilty. 

The death of Sofia shocked the nation and following a relentless pursuit for justice by his family, led to a public inquiry which found the State responsible for a litany of failures that caused the young man’s death and led to the resignation of several senior officials. It, however, found no irregularities in the allocation of the land to Buhagiar and Schembri. 

Buhagiar said he expected Agius to withdraw his allegations and retract his complaint with OLAF, adding that he would consider further legal steps in default. 

Contacted by Times of Malta after its visit to the farm, Agius said: “The question we should all ask is whether a property developer with several industrial and residential projects should be the beneficiary of EU funds for farmers, when hundreds of genuine applicants never get any funds.” He said Buhagiar benefitted not once but on three separate occasions, getting the maximum allowable funding each time. 

“The allegations outed in the media and the Sofia inquiry should have been investigated way back by the authorities not only now after my initiative. Keep in mind that sheep are easily transported. I know that OLAF is now in charge of the case. I will continue fighting corruption using new methods, including in collaboration with OLAF, the European Prosecutors Office and using technical tools in EU legislation.”