Where is it? Cultural authorities mum on return of minister’s stolen marker

Two public agencies responsible for Malta’s national heritage are refusing to say where the stolen 19th-century VR stone marker, found inside Minister Anton Refalo’s residence in Qala two years ago, is being kept.

Following statements earlier this week by the government-appointed chairman of Heritage Malta, Mario Cutajar, that the Minister has returned the stolen Victorian-era marker, The Shift asked Heritage Malta and the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage to state where the ‘Minister’s’ marker is being kept and to produce a picture of it in its new location.

The stone marker’s location in the Minister’s garden was revealed by The Shift in February 2022.

Stone markers are typically found on rural roads delineating property ownership. Some have been stolen over the years.

Neither Noel Zammit, the CEO of Heritage Malta, nor Kurt Farrugia, the Superintendent for Cultural Heritage, provided the requested information.

Both were also asked to state whether the return of a stolen artefact would automatically absolve the offender, in this case, a Cabinet member, from any criminal liability.

Farrugia was also asked whether he had filed a police report, as obliged by the law, on the discovery of a stolen object and to explain why the Minister has not faced any consequences.

Both Zammit and Farrugia remained silent.

According to the law, appropriating items of cultural and historical value is a criminal offence, punishable with a fine of up to €116,000 or a maximum of six years imprisonment.

Although Minister Refalo had been questioned by the police and admitted that the stolen marker was at his home, he was never charged in court. He never said how the stolen VR marker ended up in his garden.

Prime Minister Robert Abela also shied away from taking political action to address such behaviour from one of his Cabinet members.

Unconfirmed reports in the media suggested that Abela’s call for the Minister’s resignation was met with a “no” by Anton Refalo. The Prime Minster gave in and did not sack his most veteran Cabinet member.

The discovery of a stolen artefact at the Minister’s residence was made after pictures on social media showed the Minister’s adult children posing with a marker during a birthday party at their home.

The incriminating pictures were inadvertently posted by Andre Refalo, the minister’s son, who had taken them during his sister’s party. Simona Refalo, the Minister’s 19-year-old daughter, was elected Xewkija’s Labour Mayor last June. She is being groomed to take over her father’s parliamentary seat after the next general elections, due in 2027.