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2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 OCTOBER 2025 NEWS KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt One crypto donation, a court case and friction between Castille and San Anton THE Malta Community Chest Fund's decision to reject a donation made by Binance, a crypto exchange, was met with disbelief and anger within the cor- ridors of Castille. The donation, originally made in 2018, was the subject of a protracted legal dispute over how the crypto funds would be managed. An out of court set- tlement was reached earlier this year with the MCCFF dropping the court case it had instituted and both sides agreeing Binance would withdraw the pledge. The end of the saga, however, has left Prime Minister Robert Abela and President Myriam Spiteri Debono at loggerheads—the latter defending the decision to reject the donation and the former expressing concern at the loss of funds that would have helped cancer patients. The 2018 donation, at a time when Malta pushed to become the 'block- chain island', was worth $200,000 in BNB, a crypto currency. The funds remained untouched and due to the appreciation of BNB are now worth al- most $39 million. Court testimony Testifying in court in 2022, then MC- CFF board head John Huber had said the foundation had an agreement with Binance's Blockchain Charity Founda- tion (BCF) to collect crypto-donations. However, he said BCF had refused to transfer the assets, claiming it had sole discretion in favour of whom it ought to give these donations. Huber had testified the MCCFF cat- egorically refused to divulge any per- sonal data of patients or any medical records. "Not only was this not in the agreement but MCCFF never did this and will never do it for any donor," Hu- ber had said. The MCCFF had gone to court in 2021 in a bid to enforce the cryptocur- rency donation pledges made in 2018 when Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca was president. The MCCF argued the funds were collected for and on behalf of the charity foundation. By then the value of the donation had grown to around €7 million. Helen Hai, a representative of BCF, had also testified, confirming that BCF did not transfer any assets or monies to MCCFF. She had said the organisation always intended for a minimal transfer of assets to be made to MCCFF and the bulk transfer into crypto wallets direct- ly to patients. However, when pressed under questioning, Hai confirmed that none of this was included in the origi- nal 2018 agreement with MCCFF. On his part, Huber had testified that most recipients of MCCFF funds were distraught families who would not be able to handle crypto-wallets and the asset conversion from crypto to money. MCCFF had no issue with reputation Court records show the case kept be- ing deferred as both sides held talks to try and reach an out of court settlement. But according to sources privy to the negotiations, the MCCFF was adamant on taking possession of the pledged do- nations without compromising patient confidentiality. "The MCCFF had no issue with rep- utation at that stage and the case was instituted to take possession of those funds which were collected on its be- half," the sources said. "Binance is registered in France and through the cross-border directive can offer servic- es in Malta, apart from the fact it is also a main sponsor of Italian Serie A team Lazio." By the end of the George Vella presi- dency in April 2024, the talks were still ongoing with the sources suggesting that the MCCFF and BCF had inched closer to an agreement but there was "still no end in sight". It remains unclear what direction the negotiations between MCCFF and BCF took after Myriam Spiteri Debono was appointed president but in her com- ments to the media last week, the pres- ident defended the decision to refuse the donation and raised two reasons for it: The insistence that Binance get ac- cess to patient records, which MCCFF was not willing to do, and reputational risk. Never ending saga and disquiet in Castille But Spiteri Debono's strong words— she even described the donation as "bo- gus"—caused disquiet inside Castille. Sources close to government have told MaltaToday the anger inside Cas- tille was stronger than the prime min- ister let out in his public comments on Thursday. "The prime minister's reference to how Malta took steps to bolster an- ti-money laundering oversight in the financial sector to exit the greylist was a clear indication that the president's words on Binance's reputational risk did not go down too well," the sourc- es said. In her comments on Thurs- day, Spiteri Debono did not mince her words. "It was a saga that was going to be never ending, and there was no end in sight and no way we could envisage that this money would be spent accord- ing to the normal procedure of the Mal- ta Community chest fund," she said, adding that internationally, Binance "did not have a good name". She also doubted whether the dona- tion was made "in good faith". A spokesperson for Binance was quot- ed saying the funds would still be spent in Malta. When Prime Minister Robert Abela was asked about the reputational con- cerns raised by the president, he con- firmed being aware of the legal dispute, which kicked off at a time when Malta was placed on the greylist by the Finan- cial Action Task Force, but only learnt of the out of court settlement through the media. He urged the MCCF to reconsider its decision to reject the donation and suggested the charity organisation was being "more puritanical than it should". "It upsets me that a sum like that... could possibly be lost and if there is a chance to save the situation, I appeal for mutual agreement," he said. Whether mutual agreement is still possible between MCCFF and BCF is doubtful given the president's strong recriminations. What is not in question though, is the public fallout between Abela and Spiteri Debono. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announcing the crypto donation to the Malta Community Chest Fund in October 2018 in the presence of then President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. (Photo: Facebook/Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca)