PN urges government to reopen probe into Film Commission's €7.2 million spend
Opposition accuses government of protecting Johann Grech
The Nationalist Party on Thursday called on the government to reopen an investigation into the Film Commission’s €7.2 million expenditure after the parliamentary public accounts committee blocked it.
In a statement following Wednesday’s sitting which saw four government MPs voting against a request for information on the expenditure, the PN accused the government of protecting film commissioner Johann Grech.
The opposition said the government was “doing everything possible to avoid public scrutiny over the millions in public money that were spent by the Film Commission without transparency and without yielding any tangible results”
They pointed out that the fact that the commission’s budget has been significantly reduced in the 2026 Budget was “in itself an admission by the government that the huge spending under Johann Grech’s tenure was unjustified”.
They called on the government to publish a detailed account of all film commission expenditure in recent years including a full breakdown of how the €7.2 million were spent.
They also demanded that film funds should be used to help Maltese artists “not to finance propaganda or personal promotion projects”.
“It is shameful that what a Nationalist government had started in this industry has now been turned into nothing more than an excuse to waste money,” the PN said, adding that the film commission had become “a marketing tool for one individual”.
“Our country needs a policy that truly supports and uplifts the creative industry,” the PN said.