Commissioner ‘felt no need’ to investigate details on Michael Farrugia’s ‘lie’ on Quad Towers

The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life told a parliamentary committee on Thursday that he did not feel the need to ask former parliamentary secretary Michael Farrugia for details of a meeting held in March 2014, after which Mrieħel was included as an area where high rise developments are permitted to accommodate Quad Towers.

Although an investigation by Joseph Azzopardi concluded that Farrugia “fell short of saying what’s right” to journalists, he told the Committee for Standards in Public Life that he relied on Farrugia’s statement that high rises were not discussed in the meeting with Yorgen Fenech, accused of involvement in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The complaint was filed by independent candidate Arnold Cassola. When asked about the meeting with Fenech, the Commissioner concluded that Farrugia lied. His report was submitted to the Standards Committee.

Following the March 2014 meeting with Fenech, Farrugia sent a letter to the Planning Authority asking for Mrieħel to be included as a high rise building area ahead of the construction of Quad Towers, a project in which Fenech was co-proprietor.

During the committee meeting, Opposition MPs and committee members Ryan Callus and Mark Anthony Sammut asked the commissioner why he did not investigate who else attended the 2014 meeting despite Farrugia’s references to other individuals being present.

Callus and Sammut also asked why the Commissioner did not ask for minutes taken by Farrugia’s secretary at the meeting or for the secretary’s name.

Commissioner Azzopardi claimed he did not feel the need to investigate the other persons present, resting on Farrugia’s testimony in which he was “adamant” that high rises were not discussed and gave no details on who else was present.

During the meeting, Labour MP Jonathan Attard said the commissioner’s decision finding that Farrugia lied and broke codes of ethical conduct would give the wrong impression to well-meaning politicians who “might refrain from speaking to the media for fear of accidentally saying something wrong.”

During the meeting, the committee also discussed the publication of the commissioner’s reports, with the commissioner claiming “it would be the nicest method” if all reports were made public.

The complaint by Cassola was submitted at the time George Hyzler was commissioner. He chose to shelve it pending a separate investigation by the Permanent Commission against Corruption.

Last month, The Shift reported how Commissioner Azzopardi adopted a more timid approach to investigations since his appointment last March through controversial ‘anti-parliamentary deadlock’ legislation quietly passed two days after Christmas.

The committee is set to reconvene on a yet undisclosed date to discuss the commissioner’s testimony and details on the investigation.