Jesmond Muscat, handpicked by the government for the role of CEO of the Building and Construction Agency (BCA) only a few months ago, had issued an unauthorised €55,000 payment to himself when he was CEO of another government agency, according to court documents.
The situation had led to legal proceedings in court, which were somehow dropped by the government in a secret out-of-court settlement.
Court documents show the government claimed that Muscat’s claims of job termination were false and concocted for him to receive tens of thousands in compensation.
The government has never said anything about this issue, keeping it hidden from the public.
Despite this record, Public Works Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi still chose Muscat to head the new agency established to regulate the construction industry.
The agency involved is the same one that later gave a phantom job to Melvin Theuma, the middleman in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
The Jesmond Muscat case and his €55,000 cheque to himself
Research conducted by The Shift goes back to 2016, during the first administration of disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
While at the time the social housing sector fell under the political wing of (former) Minister Michael Farrugia, Jesmond Muscat (until then a case officer at the Planning Authority), was given a one-year contract to work as a Project Manager with a new government company called Housing Project Management Unit, now known as Social Projects Management.
The company was responsible for managing social housing projects.
A copy of the cheque Jesmond Muscat wrote to himself presented in court.
According to court documents, just a month after Muscat was appointed Project Manager, the chairman at the time, Paul Mifsud (an accountant from Mellieha), decided to appoint Muscat as temporary CEO.
Although his contract stated the CEO signed it, it emerged that it was only signed by the chairman since no CEO was in place.
A year later, on 1 April 2017, the chairman decided to give Muscat another contract, this time as CEO, with the same remuneration he had as Project Manager.
Yet, a clause was inserted in the new contract stating that Muscat would be eligible for a full year’s pay as compensation in case of termination.
Court documents show the government argued that Jesmond Muscat’s ‘termination’ was false and intended for him to access benefits.
Following the June 2017 general elections and the Labour Party’s re-election, Minister Farrugia was removed from the housing portfolio, which was transferred to Minister Roderick Galdes.
Court documents show minutes of a brief board meeting “held somewhere in Msida” in which Mifsud, the chairman, decided that “due to present circumstances in which works and positions are overlapping, Jesmond Muscat will cease to occupy the post of CEO”.
The next day, 8 September 2017, a public holiday, Muscat issued a cheque to himself for €55,000 from the government’s agency’s funds – without any authorisation – amounting to a one-year salary in what he said was his due compensation.
A few days later, he informed the new Minister, Roderick Galdes, that he was very willing to meet his successor for a handover.
Muscat was later forced to return the funds he took without any permission.
Court case dropped after secret arrangement
The story did not end there.
Since the new minister refused to pay any compensation to Jesmond Muscat, arguing that he was not entitled to it, Muscat took the government company to court, accusing it of breach of contract.
In its reply, the government claimed that the decision on Muscat’s termination was taken in “strange circumstances” and aimed at making Muscat eligible for tens of thousands of euros in terminal benefits.
The company said it wanted to question the chairman, Mifsud, in court (he was removed by then) to explain “what he was alluding to when asking Mifsud to refrain from his post as CEO” and the real reasons behind his decision.
Despite the severe accusation, the ministry and Muscat later came to some form of out-of-court settlement. Muscat informed the court that he was dropping the case.
Muscat did not reply to questions from The Shift for details on the out-of-court settlement and whether this involved monetary compensation, another government job or any other form of compensation.
Minister Roderick Galdes also refused to answer questions.
Is this Jesmond Muscat not the brother of the one man owner and director of the limited liability company which was the sole bidder in the tender for a Dingli Interpretation Centre (DIC) that was meant to be a tourist information office at Dingli Cliffs but ended up as a fully blown restaurant from 2012 onwards?
The company of his brother was formed a few days before the publication in early October 2017 of a tender for the DIC which, according to the tender documents seen by the Auditor General, indicated no commercial activities.
La Pinta Limited, fully owned by Muscat’s brother, who at the time was already a Chef, was the sole bidder. Well, what did you expect? Who would commit a liability company to a tender without any commercial benefits?
A few months later, in January 2008, Ian Borg, then Mayor of Dingli, acting through Labour Party Architect Charles Buhagiar, applied for the site permit, requesting space for “catering” activity.
The application should have been subject to an Outline Development Permit, issued in 2005 to Borg’s predecessor, which laid out that no catering was to take place on site and that food and drinks activity was to be limited to vending machines.
In 2010, the Planning Authority (then the MEPA) issued a permit, with the Planning Commission led by Perit Elizabeth Ellul confirming, in its official minutes, that in view of the Outline Development Permit, no catering was to be allowed on site.
The Architect was asked to remove catering labelled on the drawings, to which he complied. A clause in the permit refers in parenthesis to “(…an area for food and drinks…)”
Correspondence between the MEPA Chief Executive Ian Stafrace and Perit Ellul from that time confirms the MEPA’s understanding that the permit was not for a restaurant.
Since 2012, the site was converted to a full blown restaurant without any new permits.
I was told that Mr. Muscat was on sabbatical leave from the MEPA, working at the DIC, around that time.
Can this public officer confirm this please?
Wasn’t the DIC EU funded?
YES, BUT …………
Yes. EU funds were granted to the one-man company for its development.
All that you are saying is correct.
Appointing confirmed comedians on decision making roles is the ailment of this country… Especially when entertained by ministers
Comedians? These are a breed totally different from swindlers, cheats and thieves!
Incredible but true!! Jesmond Muscat was one of the aides of Minister Ian Borg at the time, where this nonesense of a person is well known for his shady character and incompetence galore. Ask Transport Malta employees to tell you more about his incompetence.? And I would not be surprised at all that this Muscat got hold of a buona uscita from TM as well. So, to get back to this case, who was the person in power who helped Muscat reaching an out of court settlement against the good will of Roderick Galdes? No need to be a genious here for one to understand and deciphere the mechanism behind illicit underground movements. And why this Muscat is now a persona non grata by Minister Ian Borg? Has Muscat betrayed the trust between him and Minister Borg? And what is the true reason behind Minister Borg’s decision to discard Muscat once and for all? The sh** is hitting the fan sur Muscat.
This madness in the construction industry shouldn’t be regulated but it has to stop. We had enough regulations but they were bypassed on purpose. The damage done to the environment is now irreparable and can’t be reversed.
It seems that we are not living in a real world. What is worse is that the plethora of quangos and government institutions (which are the pet of the Labour government elected in 2013) are unreliable. and lack credibility.
Maybe they indeed lack credibility – but they certainly do not lack free, unhindered and uncontolled access to public money!
OUR HARD EARNED MONEY!!!!
This government is a corrupted entity. Lies, ransacking of public funds, do we need to say more. They are afraid of losing power since they will all end up in jail.
That is the big question – will they ever end up in jail?
EXACTLY 😡
HALLIEIL BIL-PROVI JISRAQ FLUS IL-HADDIEM ONEST. MUVUMENT KORROT MA NIFLAHX NISMA AKTAR. L-EZMPKJU TA L-AKBAR xpm KORROT LI QATT KELLHA MALTA.
SAGA ta’ KORRUZZJONI U IMPUNITA!!!
The position of Muscat in leading a public Authority is no longer tenable. The PM should make him resign from CEO of BCA immediately and tell the police to investigate this serious case before bringing to justice those who abused from power. Court documents are clear, as it is evident that the termination of Muscat was not executed in bona fede but only to benefit from a clause in his contract, a clause which seems to be abusive as well. JUSTICE CANNOT BE TRAMPLED.
What a bunch of thieves, crooks, and criminals, we have that are running OUR COUNTRY. Aren’t they ashamed?
From PA case officer to CEO in one year!!!
Wow….I must have gone to the wrong university
Remember these shenanigans when you vote next time or this article is a waste of time.
nah! forget people voting against the ruin of our country’s reputation, against proliferation of drugs, illegalities, crime, corruption galore. Forget that some with half a brain will do the right thing. they will say,” ah il kacca is still there and PN haven’t spoken about it. Wrong as well. but that doesn’t mean that the vote should not be used in the best way possible.
Qishom kangaroos dawn in-nies jaqbzu min pozizzjoni ghall-ohra, kollox miftiehem bejniethom. Kollha jinnegozjaw kif se jimxu min post ghall-iehor, b’pagi fenomenali dejjem jizdiedu, u issa jiffirmaw ic-cekkijiet ghalihom infushom ukoll! Phantom jobs, kemm trid ukoll!
X’jonqos aktar?
Rekwiziti ghal post – trid tkun korrot, hanzir, egoist, gahan, laghqi, gakbin, ghazzien….
Edukazzjoni, integrita, professjonalita – xejn.
Ahna il-Maltin l-ohra – xejn, ingergru biss u ma jigri xejn. Bahh! Poof!
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