Former minister Michael Farrugia breached ethical standards by giving the wrong information to Times of Malta about the way Mrieħel was included as a high-rise building zone, the Standards Commissioner has found.

Times of Malta had revealed how Farrugia ordered the Planning Authority to allow high-rise developments in Mrieħel on the same day of a meeting between himself and Tumas magnate Yorgen Fenech in 2014.

In a letter to the authority's CEO, Farrugia instructed: “Mrieħel is to be considered as an appropriate location for tall buildings with the intention to create a strategic employment node”.  

The letter that changed the policy sent on the day that Michael Farrugia met Yorgen Fenech.

Mrieħel’s late inclusion in the policy paved the way for the Tumas and Gasan groups to build four towers in the locality.

An ethics probe was triggered following a complaint by activist Arnold Cassola. 

Parliament's Standards Committee agreed to publish the report on Thursday.

In it, Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi says Farrugia did not say the truth when he told Times of Malta that the decision to include Mrieħel as a high-rise zone was taken by a committee evaluating public feedback on a new policy that was being drafted at the time.

The report says that Farrugia should have verified the information he gave to Times of Malta prior to replying to questions on the matter.

Azzopardi makes it clear in his report that the probe was not about whether there was wrongdoing in Farrugia's 2014 meeting with Fenech, as the law precluded him from investigating matters that took place prior to the setting up of the Standards Commissioner's office. 

Rather, it was based on claims made by Cassola in 2020 that Farrugia had lied about the meeting and about how the decision to include Mrieħel as a high-rise zone came about. 

Meeting was about 'land reclamation'

In his testimony to the commissioner, Farrugia said high-rise zoning was not discussed during his March 2014 meeting with Fenech.

At the time, Farrugia was the parliamentary secretary responsible for planning.

Farrugia insisted that the subject matter of his meeting with Fenech, which was also attended by the Planning Authority’s CEO, was about a potential land reclamation project near Portomaso, where the Tumas business empire that was run by Fenech is based.

The minister said that following an expression of interest by the government at the time, 23 proposals for land reclamation had been received.

All those who wanted to discuss their potential projects further were given the opportunity of a meeting, Farrugia said.

Former Planning Authority CEO Johann Buttigieg could not confirm whether any minutes were taken during the meeting with Fenech.

“It was an informal meeting about the [land reclamation] project,” Buttigieg told the Standards Commissioner.

Parliament's standard's committee is expected to discuss Farrugia's ethical breach in the coming weeks, with Opposition MPs Ryan Callus and Mark Anthony Sammut requesting the standards commissioner to appear as the first witness. 

What had Farrugia told Times of Malta? 

When contacted for comment in 2020 about his meeting with Fenech, Farrugia initially replied with a one-liner saying: “Had no such meeting”.

Asked to clarify if he was disputing the official visitor log at Castille, Farrugia then came back with the reply: “No such meeting on Mrieħel sight [sic] ever took place”.

He later sent an additional clarification saying: "[The] decision for Mrieħel to be included was taken days before letter was sent by a committee evaluating policies after public consultation. In such instances the minister/parliamentary secretary responsible has to send such decision to the CEO".

No reference to Mrieħel could be found in the consultation documents about the high-rise policy document prior to Farrugia’s order in March 2014. 

Its last-minute inclusion as an area for high-rise developments had taken many by surprise at the time, with Planning Ombudsman David Pace slamming the lack of public consultation.