Ċaqnu’s headquarters, built illegally, blessed by Archbishop, celebrated by PM

The headquarters of Polidano Group was blessed by the Archbishop and celebrated by Prime Minister Robert Abela at a glitzy event last Monday, inaugurating the building constructed illegally and sanctioned later by the Planning Authority.

Charles Polidano, Iċ-Ċaqnu, is known for his decades-long flaunting of the country’s planning, building and taxation laws.  An analysis by The Shift shows that he still faces 40 ongoing cases by different government entities, apart from cases filed by individuals.

Abela justified his presence at the event by saying he wanted “to pass a message of a show of confidence” after Ċaqnu and his companies partially paid their due taxes, left by various administrations to accumulate to some €40 million over the years.

According to the Prime Minister, the inauguration had been postponed for a long time as he had insisted that the rogue developer start paying his taxes.

Research conducted by The Shift on the court’s publicly available register shows that brothers Carmel (Charles) and Paul Polidano and their mother company, Polidano Brothers, face at least 40 court cases by different government entities, apart from a raft of civil suits filed by individuals.

These include 11 pending cases instituted by the Commissioner for Inland Revenue, asking Ċaqnu to pay his taxes, including income and VAT dues, 25 cases instituted by the Planning Authority on various construction illegalities and another one by the Lands Authority for the illegal occupation of public land.

These cases are just the tip of the iceberg since Ċaqnu has been involved in a number of other court cases against government entities for many years, some settled, some lost, and others appealed.

At the same time, earlier this year, the Inland Revenue Commissioner stopped some other court cases instituted over the lack of payment of taxes, declaring in court that a partial settlement agreement was reached and Polidano had started settling his dues.

According to media reports, following legal action by the taxman and threats of blacklisting from government projects, Polidano paid some €20 million – half of what is owed.

The rest are expected to be paid in instalments.

In July 2022, following Ċaqnu’s arrest and that of his son, Gordon, for police interrogation over suspected money laundering and corruption, it was reported that the developer held a private meeting with the Prime Minister at Castille.

No details were given on what was discussed.

While the Polidanos were released on bail, they were never arraigned in court to face any criminal charges. They deny the allegations.

It is not known whether investigations are still ongoing as the police won’t divulge such information.

Currently, Ċaqnu’s group employs some 2,000 workers, primarily third-country nationals, and is regularly involved in multi-million-euro tenders and direct orders on government projects.

He has repeatedly threatened to lay off all his employees if the government insists on enforcing rules.