Standards Commissioner clears Clayton Bartolo's €123,000 wedding

Former tourism minister Clayton Bartolo did not benefit from preferential treatment when paying for his €123,000 wedding, the Standards Commissioner has concluded. 

Bartolo got married in June 2024, while serving as tourism minister. 

Following a complaint, the Standards Commissioner investigated whether db Group and Fortina Group gave Bartolo preferential treatment when hosting his wedding at Manta by the Sea, a lido in Sliema.

Db Group operate the lido, which is owned by Fortina Group.

The commissioner concluded that Bartolo did not pay any lower fees than the established prices.

The person who complained also asked that Bartolo be investigated over the location of the wedding ceremony, as it was held at Manoel Island days before an awards ceremony organised by the Film Commission – an entity he oversaw as tourism minister.

However, the commissioner did not go into the merits of that case as the Auditor General is already looking into it.

In his report, the Standards Commissioner detailed interviews he held with Bartolo, who said he paid €110,000 for his wedding at the Sliema lido.

He paid a further €13,760 to Fortina Group for renting two boats from Manoel Island to the Sliema lido.

He presented proof of payment to S.R.G.N. Company Limited, which is owned by db Group.

The receipt provided to the Commissioner only had two line items for €55,932 and €37,288. Both had the description “Wedding @ Manta 28.06.24”. The receipt also showed €16,779 in Value Added Tax.

Bartolo also provided a receipt for the rental of the two boats.

Bartolo was not asked to pay deposit

Jean Claude Fenech – Chief Financial Officer of the company – also testified.

He confirmed that the receipts were genuine and added that the rate Bartolo paid was “normal”.

Fenech said that Bartolo paid the €110,000 some two months after the wedding. He said that figure was the only transfer Bartolo made and that the then tourism minister did not pay a deposit.  

Asked if it was normal for a client not to pay a deposit for such a big event, Fenech said:  

“It depends. For example, we handle many corporate events - in those cases, like with Honourable Bartolo, there is no need for a deposit, and everything is paid afterwards.” 

“When there are individuals who we do not know, and therefore we cannot contact them then we ask for a deposit, but that is not normal procedure,” he said.

The Standards Commissioner said he had no reason not to believe the db official’s testimony.

He concluded: “From the evidence presented before this office, it appears that the Hon. Bartolo paid the amount of €110,000 for the venue, food, and services provided by the establishment Manta by the Sea, as well as the amount of €13,762 for logistics related to the use of two vessels. These are substantial sums and, at first glance, they do not appear to be preferential rates."

The commissioner concluded that even though Bartolo had the political responsibility to oversee establishments like db Group and Fortina, there would only have been a conflict of interest if he was given preferential treatment.

In the year before his wedding, Bartolo declared that his sole income in 2022 was his €65,522 salary as minister. His declaration of assets also listed €42,499 in bank deposits and an outstanding loan of €250,827. He declared ownership of one apartment in his hometown Mellieħa. 

Bartolo's wife, Amanda, was told to repay €16,000 last year after it emerged that she was hired by Bartolo and another minister, Clint Camilleri, as a policy consultant despite not doing that job. 

The couple were subsequently hit with an asset freeze following suspicions that she received a €50,000 kickback from a Swiss company. They deny all wrongdoing. 

Bartolo was expelled from Labour's parliamentary group as a result of that probe and is currently an independent MP.