Former Enemalta boss paid over €110,000 at new government agency

Jonathan Cardona, the former Enemalta CEO who was removed from office on the instruction of Prime Minister Robert Abela last summer, is earning over €110,000 in his new post at Residency Malta Agency.

According to his three-year contract, acquired by The Shift following a Freedom of Information request, Cardona receives €9,000 a month, plus a car, mobile, and performance allowance, boosting his financial package to over €110,000 a year.

His contract also stipulates that apart from his salary’s annual cost of living adjustment, Cardona will get an additional €2,500 pay rise yearly.

While the new package is still lucrative, it is around €50,000 less than his previous role.

At the state energy provider, he was put on a €160,000 package directly by Minister Miriam Dalli even though he had no experience or qualifications related to the energy sector.

He lost his job last summer after a national grid meltdown plunged the country into darkness for several days. Instead of blaming Dalli, Prime Minister Robert Abela blamed Cardona, and he was fired.

While at first, Dalli resisted, putting up an internal fight with Abela, she relented, with the prime minister’s choice, Ray Fava, taking over.

Cardona was then made CEO of Residency Malta – selling Maltese residency permits to wealthy foreigners wanting to make Malta their temporary home.

Sources had told The Shift that the compromise also included the ‘understanding’ that Monica Farrugia, a Labour Party executive member close to Cardona, would not follow him at the same agency.

Instead, Farrugia, who was recruited at Enemalta directly by Cardona and put on a €105,000 package, was transferred to the Home Affairs Ministry as a policy consultant.

Before working for Cardona at Enemalta, Farrugia was also his assistant at Identity Malta, where the pair were responsible for selling Maltese passports to millionaires.