Finance Minister Clyde Caruana thought it would have been smooth sailing through Parliament’s Public Appointments Committee’s grilling of Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit nominee chairman Kenneth Farrugia given the government’s committee majority.
But, if so, he found he was mistaken when the meeting had to be called off after it transpired the minister made a huge legal gaffe when nominating Farrugia to the post.
Farrugia’s appointment as chairman at the Unit where, until recently, he served as director general, is now stalled because Caruana had not ensured Farrugia was already an FIAU board member, the lack of which precludes him from being made chairman.
The law as amended only a few weeks ago requires the FIAU chairman to be nominated by the Prime Minister from among the FIAU’s board members.
When Opposition MP Karol Aquilina fired the Committee’s first question, asking Kenneth Farrugia whether he was a member of the board of the FIAU, Farrugia acknowledged that he was not.
The new MFSA CEO and FIAU nominee chairman Kenneth Farrugia.
The opposition immediately referred to the law to claim the nomination was illegal on two counts.
The law clearly states that it is the Prime Minister and not the finance minister who needs to make the nomination. Also, the nominated chairperson must be a sitting board member, which Farrugia currently is not.
Visibly embarrassed, Government’s Whip Andy Ellul asked for an immediate postponement of the Committee’s meeting to another date to seek “clarifications” from Caruana.
The finance minister himself was involved in the legal amendments to the FIAU law.
Farrugia had been at the FIAU for several years, also when Malta was grey-listed by the international Financial Action Task Force, in part due to the FIAU’s lack of action against money laundering.
Only a few weeks ago, Farrugia was placed on a €175,000 annual remuneration without a call as the Malta Financial Services Authority’s new CEO.
When at the FIAU, Farrugia was also responsible for imposing fines on a number of financial services operators after Malta was grey-listed, which are now being consistently found in breach of the Constitution and its guarantees.
Pajjiz tal mickey mouse 🐭🐭🐁🐁, u ta hafna grieden ukoll. Possibli b 175,000 ma stajniex nsibu lil xi hadd li kien almenu jiccekja ftit ir-regolamenti tal-pozizzjoni tieghu stess ? U dan CEO tal-MFSA igifieri. Inkomplu sejrin hekk 👏👏👏 grazzi ministru, proset ministru
Kenneth Farrugia, you were the head of a ‘criminal intelligence unit’ – DOR
You are not fit for purpose by your criminal conduct.
sour grapes
Żbalji ġenwini tal-inkompetenti. Ħeq.
Incompetents , idiots , stupid , self serving ,money grabbing friends of Robert Abela who fits in the same descriptions including being a friend of himself.
Standard MLP operation- the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing!
Totally incompetent person- PERFECT qualifications as far as this government is concerned.
Can one thing be right?
Kieku tgħaddi ġurnata u ma jkollnix xi skandlu ġdid. Hemm xi ħadd minnkom li għandu rasu fuq għonqu u jaf x’inhu jagħmel jew kollha kemm intom dilettanti u inkompetenti? Iktar ma jgħaddi ż-żmien iktar Malta tmur lura flok ‘l quddiem.
Clyde Caruana mdorri jinnomina nies bl-amment biex imexxu l-entitajiet tal-gvern. L-ikbar kapulavur ghamlu meta pogga lil Joseph Caruana (ma nafx jigix minnu) bhala Kummissarju tat-Taxxi, bniedem arroganti li la ghandu knowledge u lanqas esperjenza fit-taxxi. U r-riżultat hu li l-ahjar nies li kellu d-dipartiment qed jitlifhom ghax ma jifilhux jahdmu mieghu. U l-backlogs tax-xoghol dejjem telghin u t-taxpayers ma jsibu lil hadd mid-dipartiment li jista’ jaqdihom ghax dawk li pogga Caruana biex jghinuh huma nies inkompetenti bhalu. Nisfida lill-PAC biex jiggrilljaw lill-kummissarju tat-Taxxi halli jikkonfermaw dan kollu li qed nghid jien f’din il-korrispondenza.