In November 2022, Charles Polidano, Iċ-Ċaqnu, applied to sanction multiple illegalities at his Montekristo estate, “one of the largest, illegally built sites on the island”. A year earlier, the Planning Authority sanctioned another barrage of Polidano’s illegalities at his concrete batching plant and head office block.
A child was seriously injured when a tiger from Polidano’s illegal zoo walked around his Montekristo estate.
Polidano failed to pay his taxes for decades and accumulated over €40 million in arrears.
In July 2022, Polidano was arrested over alleged money laundering and corruption. Days after the arrest, Times of Malta revealed that Polidano held a private meeting with Prime Minister Robert Abela at Castille. Last week, Abela was cutting the ribbon at Polidano’s head office block.
Abela enthusiastically, shamelessly, and publicly endorsed Polidano’s long history of violating the law, evading tax for decades and even taking the law into his own hands. He’s even been interrogated by the police over alleged threats, use of force, bodily harm and revenge porn.
What the hell are you doing here, the incredulous reporter asked Abela. What followed was unbelievable. The prime minister launched into a eulogy of Polidano, lauding him to high heavens.
“Today’s inauguration was postponed by quite some time because of my insistence that a number of fiscal failures had to be regularised. This company made an effort to pay a number of arrears.” Made an effort? Iċ-Ċaqnu is the richest man in Malta. He’s valued at over €1 billion. Instead of coming down on him like a tonne of bricks, the country’s prime minister applauds Polidano, the bully, for making an effort.
“Once the company sent a message that it is ready to come in line with its obligations,” Abela continued, “the government needs to reciprocate by sending a message of trust.” Is the man berserk? Are companies given the choice whether to “come in line” and pay taxes under Labour? Iċ-Ċaqnu hasn’t come in line – he’s just given a message he’s ready to do so. But Abela is fawning all over him, despite his murky history.
There was worse. “This company employs hundreds of workers – when I spoke to them, many expressed a common sentiment – they are respected in their place of work and their income allows them to sustain their families,” Abela waffled.
That’s the law, you moron! Companies don’t get a choice. They don’t pay salaries and provide decent working conditions out of the goodness of their heart. Iċ-Ċaqnu isn’t Mother Teresa. He’s making massive profits. He doesn’t deserve accolades from the prime minister for paying workers. What did Abela expect to find at Ħal Farruġ? Slaves?
Abela continued to dig: “I believe that you need to see things from a holistic perspective – I keep insisting that where things were done badly or could have been done better, I demand they are done better.”
When the law is broken repeatedly, when taxes aren’t paid for decades, the perpetrator should face justice, not a polite request to do things better. Jail is where those breaking the law and who fail to pay tax belong. Instead, Abela legitimises Iċ-Ċaqnu’s illegalities and his contempt for the law by cutting the ribbon at his head office.
Robert Abela enthusiastically, shamelessly and publicly endorsed Charles Polidano’s long history of violating the law- Kevin Cassar
In November 2013, Labour’s new government sent Planning Authority officials, accompanied by scores of armed soldiers and police officers, to the illegality ridden Montekristo estate. “Abuse cannot be tolerated and the government will continue to insist on the removal of all illegal structures,” Labour declared. Ten years later, not only have those illegal structures not been dismantled, they’ve been sanctioned. Labour’s leader inaugurated them.
Labour’s show of force in 2013 was just a sham. Or a message to Polidano that if he wanted to keep his illegal structures, Polidano knew what he had to do. Within two weeks of Labour’s 2013 election victory, Polidano was meeting minister Michael Farrugia. That meeting was exposed by journalists. Farrugia had to admit he’d met Polidano who wanted to “regularise his irregularities at Montekristo estate”. Farrugia bluffed: “I made it clear to Polidano that what is illegal must go.” Farrugia claimed that “Polidano has been tied to a timeline to voluntarily remove the illegal structures”. And Labour brags it always keeps its promises.
In 2017, Polidano was acquitted of illegally dumping construction waste in a Kirkop quarry without the necessary licence. In a prosecution planned to fail, the prosecution didn’t even bother presenting evidence confirming Polidano was the director of Ecoways Radam Ltd that dumped the waste. The court had no option but to acquit him.
When Polidano believed somebody owed him money, he took the law into his own hands. He dumped a massive concrete block in front of a garage complex, blocking access to everybody using those garages for months. Labour took no action.
Meanwhile, instead of recouping money Polidano owed the state, Labour worked tirelessly to slash his €40 million tax bill down to less than €10 million. When the Times of Malta exposed the revolting deal, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana vehemently denied it. The allegation, he claimed, was “manifestly unfounded and completely false”. “Such untruthful articles undermine the social contract between the state and its taxpayers by giving the impression that appeasement is given to the preferred,” he accused.
When Polidano’s tax deal was exposed, “senior government politicians” scrambled to cancel the deal as ADPD formally asked the National Audit Office to investigate it, insisting “the public has a right to full details”.
In June 2022, Polidano reached a new deal with the tax authorities, almost two full years after he’d been threatened with court action for failing to pay.
By then, the Planning Authority had sanctioned many of Polidano’s illegalities – including those at the very office block Abela inaugurated. The maximum legally allowed height was 10.5 metres. Polidano’s office reached 19. Polidano illegally added a basement and several floors. Ċaqnu’s illegal constructions covered 64,000 square metres. He accumulated 55 enforcement notices. Who cares?
This is Malta where, if you cheat, break the law, refuse to pay tax for decades and build a massive illegal block, the prime minister inaugurates it, insisting you deserve a “show of confidence”; and rewards you with millions of taxpayers’ money in contracts.
We don’t have a prime minister. We have a mercenary, a cheap one who sold his soul to Chris Borg for €45,000 and is now selling whatever’s left to Iċ-Ċaqnu.
Kevin Cassar is a professor of surgery.