Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1472276
TRUTH IS OF NO COLOUR WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT PAGE 4 SUNDAY • 3 JULY 2022 • ISSUE 1183 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY maltatoday LAWYER GUIDELINES Mental health czar looking into controversial warrant guidelines PAGE 13 VEGAN REVOLUTION MATTHEW VELLA THE private sector operator believed to have been part of an allegedly illicit inducement by construction magnate Charles Polidano, is Alex Montebel- lo, the CEO of Malta Freeport Terminals. Montebello and his wife were questioned by police in an on- going investigation which has seen Polidano and his son Gor- don being arrested and interro- gated on Friday morning, over suspicions of corruption and money laundering. The alleged incident would date back to the time when Montebello was chief financial officer at Malta Freeport Ter- minals. MaltaToday is informed that the investigation was spurred by inexplicable amounts of money in Montebello's person- al accounts. The case was then handled by the police financial crimes investigation depart- ment (FCID). The alleged corruption would have taken place through the sale of a property. Polidano Group categorically denied any wrongdoing, in a statement sent to this newsroom saying it was assisting the authorities in verifying payments made to the company in 2014, involving a public deed. "The Group is confident the authorities will be satisfied once these verifications have taken place. The Group will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities," Polidano Group said. This is not Polidano's first brush with the law. Last year, Polidano was interrogated by police on alleged threats, use of force, bodily harm and revenge porn. Months before this, he was served with a number of court documents ordering him to pay a massive €40 million bill, some of which stretches back to the 1990s. Police question Freeport CEO over Polidano case Alex Montebello, Malta Freeport CEO JAMES DEBONO MALTA is one of seven EU countries which have a "signifi- cant decline" in their real mini- mum wage rate amidst increase in the cost of living, an annual review of minimum wages in the European Union carried out by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living, and Working Conditions (Euro- found) reveals. While the minimum wage in Malta increased by 1% between January 2021 and January 2022, thanks to the Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) in the last budget, in real terms mini- mum-wage earners experienced a 3% drop in income when infla- tion is taken into account. Real wages – what money can actually buy in terms of goods and services – are calculated as nominal minimum wages, de- flated by national price indexes. €1.95 Maltese 'real' minimum wage declines by 3% Grassfire threat in summer heat 'I lost all my olive trees in Swieqi grassfire' PAGE 12-13 Inflation and wages IVF preimplantation genetic testing bill Cabinet's wait-and-see on whether Vella will sign law PAGE 2 Darryl Grima and his campaign to change the way we think of food MT2 PAGE 2