Parliament wrote off 37 years of illegalities committed by developer and hotelier Anglu Xuereb in just a few minutes as the National Audit Accounts Committee unanimously approved a settlement between AX Holdings and the Lands Authority.

Anglu Xuereb and the government agreed to drop the lawsuits they had filed against each other over the years in exchange for a just €2 million fine to be paid for illegally occupying the public coastline in Qawra since 1987.

The agreement, reached after years of closed-door meetings, also includes provisions allowing Xuereb to pay the fine in instalments over ten years.

Xuereb will also be given legal title over the land he occupied by building his lidos at the Suncrest and Sunny Coast Hotel for the next 65 years at a concession fee of €138,000 a year.

The deal was approved in just a few minutes, and questions were only raised by opposition committee members.

PN MP Darren Carabott asked about access to the coast, which the government insisted would remain open despite the 5,800 square metres of public land occupied by the lido.

PN MP David Agius asked how the fine had been calculated, with Lands Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi insisting that it resulted from ‘valuations and negotiations’.

Following the short debate, both Labour and PN MPs approved the motion. The Shift reported this would be the outcome last week.

During the construction of the Suncrest Hotel in the early 1980s, Anglu Xuereb illegally occupied large areas of the coastline in front of his hotel in Qawra and turned them into two private lidos.

Legal proceedings were initiated against Xuereb in 1991. They never concluded, leading to the settlement being reached.

Over the years, the lidos have been converted into fully commercial properties, including restaurants, shops and a private car park.