‘No stone unturned’ – Education Minister vows to probe €2.3m MCAST fraud
Clifton Grima offers services of Internal Audit and Investigations Department
Education Minister Clifton Grima has vowed to leave "no stone unturned" in getting to the bottom of a €2.3 million embezzlement scandal at MCAST.
In a statement, the ministry said it is offering the public education institution the services of the government's Internal Audit and Investigations Department (IAID)
The IAID is empowered to conduct independent investigations and scrutiny of government bodies.
MCAST's finance manager and ex-PN councillor Francine Farrugia was charged on Thursday with siphoning off the money, through “double salary” payments to her accounts and Revolut.
Alarm bells about the lack of internal payroll controls at MCAST were first raised back in 2019 by the Auditor General.
In a separate statement, MCAST said it began introducing changes to the payroll system in the first quarter of the year.
The system features a built-in verification mechanism and is integrated with other platforms to strengthen governance, improve transparency, and ensure accountability, it said.
"To minimise disruption, the system is being rolled out in phases over the summer months, a period when student activity is reduced and payment volumes are lower. This phased approach is designed to ensure a smooth transition in the system," MCAST said.
The education institute said it has voluntarily commissioned one of Malta’s leading independent audit firms to conduct a comprehensive review of its processes and to make the necessary recommendations.
It added that it is "actively following the developments related to this case, including legal processes, including those aimed at the recovery of any public funds involved".
MCAST's lawyers unsuccessfully asked the court to ban the media from naming it in its reporting.
In another statement, the Nationalist Party called for an investigation into how the fraud was carried out without anyone noticing.
MCAST only got to know about the alleged fraud after the police notified them about their probe into Farrugia in July.