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NEWS 4 maltatoday | TUESDAY • 22 MARCH 2022 Abela rakes in thousands but no mention of Russian rent in income statement NICOLE MEILAK PRIME Minister Robert Abela's tax statement makes no mention of rent earned by lending his Że- jtun villa address to two Russian passport applicants. Abela's firm was previously an accredited agent for the In- dividual Investor Programme, Malta's scheme for the sale of passports to the global elite. Tax statements obtained by MaltaToday show Robert Ab- ela earning hundreds of thou- sands from his legal profession between 2017 and 2019, apart from his yearly salary work- ing as an MP. However, Abe- la makes no reference to any rental income earned from his Żejtun property. Robert Abela confirmed last week that he rented out his Żejtun villa to a prospective passport buyer from Russia. He stated that the rental agree- ment was signed before he be- came Prime Minister, but could not specify when the contract was terminated. Abela is not legally required to declare such rental income if the contract was originally de- clared with the tax authorities and if he paid a 15% tax on all the income made. His last tax statement as an MP showed that he earned €352,672 through his legal profession, while claiming €125,418. His net profit for 2020 was €227,254, while his MP honoraria saw him earn €25,031. Parliamentary declarations tabled in April 2020 showed that Abela held €531,000 in his BOV accounts. In his 2018 declaration Abela reported earning income from his Casma Ltd chairmanship. Casma is a government com- pany responsible for managing property on behalf of govern- ment. Abela was granted the chairmanship by former prime minister Joseph Muscat, whom he served as a consultant to Cabinet. MaltaToday had revealed that Robert Abela acquired his Żejtun villa only three months after it was regularised by the Planning Authority and freed from restrictions for its sale. Abela was the PA's chief lawyer at the time, raising questions as to whether Abela could have used his position to secure the sanctions. The villa has been mired in controversy since then. Apart from questions on his posi- tion, property experts were quick to point out that Abela secured the villa for a bargain price. The 2,200sqm estate was bought by Abela for €600,000, with the contract certifying the sale signed on 10 July, 2017. An exercise conducted by MaltaToday last year showed Robert Abela to be among the top earners in parliament, with net assets worth €331,337. He owns two other properties apart from his Żejtun villa, in- cluding a property in Xewkija and an apartment in Marsas- kala. Abela also holds ordinary shares in HSBC Bank Malta, unsecured bonds in Hili Prop- erties, and Malta Government Stock. His wealth is spread across five bank accounts, with the bulk held in two BOV ac- counts. It was further revealed this year that Robert Abela's law firm benefitted from a €17,000 per month retainer contract from the Planning Authority, apart from thousands of euro received through direct orders. His firm earned €123,000 in direct orders from the PA, the €17,000 per month, and legal consultancies from ARMS, Air Malta, and the Environment Ministry. nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt Scan the code to see Robert Abela's tax statements CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Abela said Labour wants to see more workers unionized to make sure vulnerable workers are given protection; and that the debate on homework was about achieving the best bal- ance between children's school work and leisure time. Abela was confronted on his Żejtun villa acquisition, whose €600,000 price tag for over 2,000 square metres of land outside development zones has raised eyebrows. Abela insisted that he had paid the relevant tax according to law and did not interfere in the sanction- ing decisions by the Planning Authority, which he served as legal consultant at the time, to regularise the villa so that it could be sold to him. Abela insisted that the Plan- ning Authority had to con- sider government's strategic direction in its planning deci- sions, when challenged on the green light the PA had given to Gozitan mega-developer Joseph Portelli's Sannat com- plex, which has been roundly criticized by NGOs and res- idents. "I will be clear on one point. Developers have never, ever, spoken to me about this permit in particular." Abela said the 2006 local plans were an "inescapable reality" and accused Bernard Grech's right-hand man, Ray Bezzina – who formerly served as an aide to environment min- ster George Pullicino in 2006 – of being responsible for the ex- tension of the building zones. Abela acknowledged that La- bour was suffering from disap- pointed voters who had been scandalised by the corruption of the Labour administration that came to light in the 2019 political crisis. "Labour has started a new page after the cri- sis, specifically in January 2020 when I was elected PL leader," he said. "We weren't perfect, we made mistakes, I'll be first to admit my own. But we're committed to do better." Abela listed several reforms by his government to alleviate the centralisation of power at the hands of the Prime Min- ister. Before 2020 the Prime Minister enjoyed full discretion in appointing the Commission- er for Police and Chief Justice. Months after Abela came into power, government changed the laws so that the police com- missioner is appointed through an open call while the Chief Justice is appointed through a two-thirds parliamentary ma- jority. "I looked for consensus from the Opposition leader at the time, and the Chief Justice was given a stamp of approval by parliament," Abela said. The prime minister also in- sisted that Malta's FATF grey- listing was "not necessarily a confirmation of corruption". He said that of all Malta's 58 deficiencies identified in the initial Moneyval report, the country had to address two spheres of action in its FATF action plan. "Our country is a safe jurisdiction. People appre- ciate that we approached the issue seriously." The Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked a mild debate on what Malta's role should be in such conflicts as an EU member state and a militari- ly non-aligned country. Abela said that Malta can still prac- tice solidarity while remaining neutral at a military level. Grech won't go after loss BERNARD Grech is showing no signs of going away if he loses the election on Saturday, telling voters, "I will remain with you for Malta". Grech was asked by a journalist whether he will stay on as Oppo- sition leader if the Nationalist Par- ty loses the election by more than 30,000 votes. "I am with you for Malta and after Saturday, I will re- main with you for Malta," Grech replied. The PN leader insisted he will not speculate on the general election and survey projections. "The best and only survey that counts is that of Saturday," he said. Grech insisted that when people go to vote they will be alone in the polling booth and no one will know how they voted. "In that room, nobody will be call- ing you up; in that room, you can decide who to vote for with no one applying pressure on you; in that room, you can decide to put an end to the oppression and take power away from Robert Abela," Grech said. MaltaToday's rolling survey and other polls are projecting a Labour victory with a majority that ranges from 29,000 to 38,000 votes amid what appears to be a lower turnout. Abela insists he paid rightful tax on Zejun villa Robert Abela was interviewed on Xtra

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