Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/345566
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 JULY 2014 3 News Newcomers make up for lost ministers in Cabinet rich list JURGEN BALZAN PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat's first Cabinet last year could well claim the title as the richest Cabinet in Maltese history. This year, following the March reshuffle, the Cabinet net worth dropped by around €35,000, how- ever it is still worth at least €5.3 mil- lion, with newcomers Chris Fearne and Michael Falzon making up for the loss of last year's second richest Cabinet member, Franco Mercieca. Manuel Mallia, Edward Scicluna, Louis Grech and George Vella fill in the five top positions together with Fearne. However, the real value of the Cabinet members is higher since all ministers failed to include the val- ue of their properties, shareholdings and investments. Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia retained the first position in the government's rich list, adding a hefty €55,000 to his previous decla- ration of assets. Mallia is by far the wealthiest minister in the current Cabinet, ac- cording to the declarations tabled in Parliament earlier this week, with al- most €2.1 million in investments and bank deposits to his name. Apart from revealing who is, at least on paper, the richest and poor- est within the Cabinet, once again the documents showed that a number of ministers in Joseph Muscat's team have a penchant for owning large quantities of immovable property. This year's list includes former ministers who were removed in the March reshuffle, including Presi- dent Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and Karmenu Vella – the latter is set to be nominated EU Commissioner in October. Also included are the four new members of the Cabinet: Chris Ag- ius, Justyne Caruana, Michael Falzon and Chris Fearne. The Cabinet's code of ethics does not bind ministers to declare the value of their properties and their investments, making it nigh on im- possible to accurately calculate their net worth. In fact, none of them list- ed the value of their properties, and only a few gave a monetary value to their investments. Moreover, the code does not oblige ministers to reveal other assets such as cars, yachts and other personal effects of significant value, as is re- quired in other EU and non-Europe- an countries. Ministers' estimated value was therefore calculated based on the money deposited in banks – Minis- ter Mallia's case, in cash – and in- vestments, which were given a mon- etary value. Although Article 48 of the Code of Ethics for Ministers and Parlia- mentary Secretaries says that the declarations should also include the property of spouses if it forms part of the community of acquests, only a minority of the 23 Cabinet members pointed out their spouses' property and investments. Also, despite the code's condition that ministers should avoid specula- tive investments "about which they have or may be thought to have by virtue of their ministerial office, early or confidential information likely to affect the price of those investments," a significant number of present and past ministers hold investments in locally based compa- nies, some of which are listed on the stock exchange. Movers and shakers Manuel Mallia's net worth hovers around the €2.1 million mark, up by €55,000 from last year. Last year, Mallia had declared €500,000 in cash, however it seems that he has now deposited the mon- ey in a bank account since his bank deposits have increased by almost €600,000. Moreover, Mallia earns 25% of an inheritance from his parents, con- sisting of rents, ground rents and properties. He owns properties in Valletta, Msida, Gozo, Burmarrad and Romania, to which the criminal lawyer-turned-politician did not at- tribute a value. The title of the biggest climber in the Cabinet goes to former tour- ism minister Karmenu Vella whose deposits went up from €140,000 to €665,000. Vella, who is set to be appointed as Malta's EU Commissioner later this year, declared that the substantial in- crease in his deposits came from the sale of a property in Marsascala. Vella also owns a number of apart- ments in Birzebbugia and St Paul's Bay and three pieces of land in Zur- rieq, Qrendi and Zejtun. He also owns a portion of three other pieces of land and declared 50% sharehold- ing in Micallef, Vella and Associates. However Vella, an architect by pro- fession, did not quantify the value of these assets and shareholdings. Another former minister, God- frey Farrugia also declared a hefty increase in his assets. Last year, the former health minister had declared a number of investments without at- tributing their value. But in this year's declaration, Far- rugia noted down the value of a number of investments in Malta and abroad, which total to around €130,000. Added up to his bank de- posits, the dentist is worth around €150,000, however this does not in- clude three properties in Zebbug. Finance Minister Edward Scicluna also saw an upward shift in his for- tunes, with a €50,000 increase in his bank deposits. Other ministers who registered a substantial increase are deputy prime minister Louis Grech, former parliamentary secretary Franco Mer- cieca, new tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis, foreign affairs minis- ter George Vella and junior minister Stefan Buontempo. At the other end of the balance sheet, the biggest losers are energy and health minister Konrad Mizzi, who suffered an €87,000 dent to his bank account, Gozo Minister Anton Refalo, who despite his impressive portfolio of properties lost €24,000, and new Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis, who lost around €20,000. Economy Minister Chris Cardona gained €12,000, however unlike last year, his declarations for 2014 in- clude €468,000 in bank deposits be- longing to his wife. These deposits also include bank accounts in US dollars and Ukrainian Hryvnia. Moreover, Cardona's wife also owns various properties in Ukraine and Bulgaria, which have not been valued. From the newcomers, junior minis- ter Chris Fearne is the heavyweight, with deposits and investments amounting to over €420,000. The paediatric surgeon also owns two properties and a garage in Tarxien and Bir id-Deheb. The junior minister responsible for planning, Michael Falzon, de- clared €175,000 in bank deposits apart from his residence in Iklin and a 2,000 square metres parcel of land in Bahrija. MaltaToday quantified the declared deposits and investment holdings as claimed by government ministers. Company holdings are not quantified, and earnings for 2012 have not been included in the final figure since these could have been reinvested or deposited in bank accounts; properties have not been quantified either. Karmenu Vella Manuel Mallia Anton Refalo Chris Fearne Chris Cardona