Rosianne Cutajar told the owner of an Mdina property she had carefully counted together with her father the commission money received in connection with a property deal, according to documents handed to the standards commissioner.

A sworn statement submitted to Standards in Public Life Commissioner George Hyzler details how Cutajar allegedly accepted €46,500 in cash for her role in facilitating a €3.1 million property deal with Daphne Caruana Galizia murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.

The €46,500 in cash was allegedly given to Cutajar as a commission by the property owner, Joseph Camilleri.

In an affidavit statement made by Camilleri last year and handed to Hyzler as part of the investigation, the property owner says that, two days after the cash was given to Cutajar at a Valletta restaurant, the politician called him and said she had confirmed the amount after meticulously counting it together with her father.

“Cutajar said she had never made that much money before,” the statement reads.

Camilleri claims in the sworn statement that he had repeatedly told Cutajar she would have to return the money if the deal fell through.

The deal did eventually collapse when Fenech was arrested over his alleged involvement in the murder.

Cutajar said she had never made that much money before

Although Camilleri chased Cutajar to return the money, she denies ever accepting any cash.

Times of Malta first revealed the property deal in December and Cutajar announced her resignation as junior minister last week, pending the outcome of the investigation by the standards commissioner.

Rosianne Cutajar with her associate Charles Farrugia, known as it-Tikka.

Cutajar and her associate, Charles Farrugia, known as It-Tikka, have both tried to downplay her involvement in the property transaction, with the MP insisting she never did any business with Fenech.

Times of Malta also reported that exchanges between Cutajar and Fenech indicate she was given a €9,000 cut from another pile of cash.

Sources said the exchange indicated the money was handed to Cutajar by Fenech after he went to Bank of Valletta in August 2019 to secure a loan for the property deal.

After the pair met, Fenech messaged Cutajar to inform her there was an extra €9,000 in the cash pile for her, over and above the €31,000 in brokerage fees due to Farrugia.

“Thank goodness you told me, as I was going to keep on going with it [the money] straight to him [Farrugia] but he told me he’s not home,” Cutajar said in a message.

Fenech then told her he was too shy to tell her he had put in an extra €9,000 for her.

“I know how much you have done for me,” the sources say Cutajar told the owner of secret company 17 Black. She further told Fenech that €9,000 was a lot of money and a small birthday present to serve as a memento of him would have been more than enough.

Prime Minister Robert Abela yesterday praised Cutajar’s decision to step down, saying it was the mature thing to do in the face of such allegations.