There was no breach of ethics in connection with the appointment of Malta’s ambassador to Ghana, the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has concluded.

Standards Commissioner George Hyzler investigated a complaint by Anthony De Bono, former Maltese ambassador to Jordan, that Jean Claude Galea Mallia should not have been appointed to the position in Ghana.

The complaint focussed on Galea Mallia's business relationship with another Maltese person who was living in Ghana and who was wanted by the police in Malta. 

It was also alleged that then Foreign Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela should have informed parliament’s public appointments committee about the links between the ambassador and the wanted person when he asked the committee to consider the appointment in October 2018. 

In a report published on Wednesday, the commissioner said he could not investigate this allegation since the Standards in Public Life Act was not in force when the committee considered the ambassador’s appointment.

Since Abela could have later recalled the ambassador had this been necessary on account of his business relationships, the commissioner focused his investigation on whether the minister should have taken such action. 

The commissioner found that while it was true that the ambassador had been in business with a person who was sought by the Maltese police, on his appointment, he began divesting himself of his business interests in Ghana and kept his distance from his former business partner. 

This led the commissioner to conclude that the conflict of interest had been addressed and there had been no reason for Abela to recall the ambassador. 

Minister 'forgot' about business partnership

In his correspondence with the commissioner, Abela denied any knowledge of the partnership between the ambassador and the wanted person. However, there was proof that the partnership had been brought to the minister’s attention in summer 2017.

The Commissioner sought an explanation from the minister about his incorrect denial, and the minister said he had “forgotten” the matter on account of the passage of time. The commissioner accepted this explanation. 

In his report, the Standards Commissioner made a number of recommendations about the ambassadorial appointment process.

He said that the Foreign Affairs Ministry should conduct more extensive due diligence on candidates before proposing their names to the parliamentary committee.

This due diligence should cover not only security-related issues but also candidates’ commercial interests, he said adding that the results of the due diligence should be presented to the committee.

The ministry should also draw up a policy on whether ambassadors of Malta to other countries could have commercial interests in their host countries. 

The Commissioner has forwarded a copy of his case report to the police after noting that, as far as he could tell, they had not been informed that a person wanted by them was residing in Ghana.

Correction May 5: Article photo amended to show ambassador to Ghana Jean Claude Galea Mallia. A previous version featured an image of a trade delegation to the African country.