Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/679878
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 15 MAY 2016 4 News MATTHEW VELLA IT'S easy to explain why Malta's lack of 'revolving door' rules help govern- ment ministers and MPs acquire considerable influence in their field, and leverage their experience when they return to the private sector. The former finance minister, Tonio Fenech, left government in March 2013 to return to private sector work, doubling his income with numerous directorships he accepted as part of his professional work as auditor. Fenech – who left Pricewater- houseCoopers in 2004 to take up the job of parliamentary secretary for finance under Lawrence Gonzi – declared a total income of €115,641 in 2013. His income in 2014 exceeded €160,000 thanks to directorships in more than 11 different companies he represents, as tax returns requested by this newspaper from the Speaker of the House of Representatives show. Last week Fenech told MaltaToday that until any rules are introduced for ministers to be granted suitable allowances not to take up employ- ment in the fields they regulated, MPs remained free to pursue their professions as they saw fit. The Maltese parliament however provides transitional allowances for former ministers after the lapse of 12 months from the termination of their executive position, and after deducting any income from their jobs. But Malta has no fixed 'revolv- ing doors' policies to limit the cases where lawmakers switch jobs and join the private sector, armed with the influence they gained as Cabinet members. Even CEOs and top direc- tors in government regulators often find themselves drifting from their government posts into top private sector jobs in the same field they for- merly regulated. In 2013, Fenech earned €13,287 from his professional occupation as auditor and a total of €70,000 from his job as minister and later chair- man of the public accounts commit- tee. But he supplemented his income with directorships in Ferratum Bank, the MSF group of companies, Twin- kleday Ltd – a company in which PN deputy leader Mario de Marco is also involved as director – Rocket Fuel Holdings, Legalzoom Enterprises, and Credorax: a total of €32,203 in honoraria. In 2014, Fenech declared €20,000 in professional earnings, apart from his €27,298 honorarium as MP and PAC chairman. His directorships earned him €112,750: Ferratum, Credorax, and Falcon Funds fees equalled €24,000, €30,000, and €15,000 respectively, while he added Vallgesa Ltd, Vall- cara Ltd, Blue Point Ltd, and Philipp Asset Management Ltd, to his port- folio of companies. Fenech has denied lending his ser- vices to offshore firms, given that he holds a non-executive directorship in an advisory firm whose registered owner is a British Virgin Islands company, and is a company secre- tary to a subsidiary of Jersey trust specialist. In July 2015 he became chairman of Abalone Asset Management, which is run by CEO Roberto Co- lapinto and whose ownership is held in Abalone Holding. Back in 2013 Fenech became company secretary to Marlin Property Holdings, whose owners are the First Names Group, a leading provider of trust services located in another tax haven: Jersey. As an MP it is Fenech's right to have a separate profession. "I assure you that none of the companies I am involved in creates a conflict of inter- est with my parliamentary duties… None of the companies is in secretive non-cooperative jurisdictions barred by the FIAU. I carried out necessary know-your-clients checks to ensure these companies perform legitimate activities and have no politically ex- posed persons except myself and which is declared with regulatory authorities and financial institutions in Malta and abroad when required," Fenech told MaltaToday last week. Fenech also shares directorships with former state-appointed officials and top directors from Bank of Val- letta, a partly government-owned bank. At Credorax he joined Tonio Depasquale, the former Bank of Val- letta chief executive; he is a director with former BOV chairman – ap- pointed by Fenech himself – Dan- ny Publio Rosso, in the company Ananova Ltd; and again with Rosso and former BOV chief executive Charles Borg in Vallcara Limited, which is owned by Vallgesa Limited. 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T: 2258 2828-2258 2800 F: 2132 0459 Emergency 24 hour telephone line - 9949 3440 www.badboycleaners.com SITUATIONS VACANT Malta MPs' tax returns: Tonio Fenech's directorships earn him €112,000 Top earners in the House of Representatives, 2013-14 Source: Tax returns, House of Representatives Incomes include any MP's honorarium or ministerial salary paid, pensions, rents, business and professional fees less costs claimed, less tax rebates claimed * denotes joint declaration of spousal income MP TOTAL 2013-2014 2014 2013 De Marco, Mario (PN) €436,108 €217,998 €218,110 Mercieca, Franco (PL) €351,707 €157,619 €194,088 Fenech, Tonio (PN) €276,311 €160,769 €115,542 Mallia, Emmanuel (PL) €275,644 €240,171 €35,473 Arrigo, Robert (PN)* €275,072 €144,051 €131,021 Refalo, Anton (PL)* €199,213 €78,714 €120,499 Fearne, Chris (PL)* €195,779 €89,921 €105,858 Gonzi, Michael (PL)* €193,282 €97,969 €95,313 Agius, David (PN)* €183,046 €92,665 €90,381 Puli, Clyde (PN)* €178,225 €79,039 €99,186 Former finance minister Tonio Fenech earns directorships worth over €100,000, making him a much sought-after 'partner' in the world of private finance