Adrian Hillman was given a €48,000 contract for public relations consultancy in 2017, despite the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) shelling out close to a quarter of a million euros to a company to provide similar services.
In the same year that the former Allied Group managing director landed the contract, the authority issued €216,000 to international consultancy firm CTF partners for similar PR and reputation management services.
A list of direct orders tabled in parliament shows that Hillman ended up netting €96,000 from the MGA over two years for a contract to provide “strategic public relations and communications consultancy”.
He was at the time facing a magisterial inquiry over bribery and money laundering.
He has since been charged with those alleged crimes, along with former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri.
The MGA consultancy contract was reportedly given to Hillman in 2017 on the direct instructions of the OPM. Prime Minister Robert Abela gave the go-ahead for Hillman’s contract to be terminated last year following allegations of irregularities.
Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo, who was responsible for the MGA at the time the contract was terminated, had claimed that Hillman was taking payments intended for a private company through consultancies from the MGA.
“I’ve ordered this contract to be terminated immediately as a show of zero tolerance for potentially damaging behaviour to such a crucial industry,” Bartolo had said.
It is not known whether any investigation was ever launched into Bartolo’s claim or if efforts were made to establish whether Hillman had carried out the work he was paid for.
Hillman had at the time hit back at the claims of irregularities.
He was extradited from the UK in May to face a slew of charges, including money laundering, conspiracy to commit a crime, defrauding Progress Press and accepting bribes.
The case revolved around the multi-million euro sale of printing equipment to Progress Press from Schembri’s company Kasco.
At the time, Hillman was the managing director of Progress Press’ parent company Allied Group, which publishes the Times of Malta.
Hillman and Schembri deny the charges.