Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Malta Alexander Demarco will replace Edward Scicluna as he faces criminal charges related to the hospitals concession, the government has announced.
Scicluna, a former finance minister, signed off on a deal the court ruled fraudulent and annulled following a case filed by the Opposition. Despite having to step aside, Scicluna will retain his salary – a move the Opposition said reflected the prime minister’s weakness.
The hospitals deal was made by the administration of disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat, involving his ‘star minister’ Konrad Mizzi and Muscat’s chief of staff Keith Schembri. All are facing criminal charges in relation to the sell-out of Malta’s public hospitals to Vitals Global Healthcare, which was then shifted to Steward Health Care, a US company facing a probe by the US Senate.
Scicluna, 78, insisted he would not resign, but a Tuesday cabinet meeting appeared to have reached a compromise with the Governor.
“The Cabinet has noted Prof Edward Scicluna’s request to European Central Bank Governor Christine Lagarde that he will no longer execute his function as Central Bank Governor as long as he continues to face charges in court,” the government said in a statement.
It added that the Cabinet “recognises Scicluna’s decision was in the national interest”, although his €138,000 salary for doing nothing while facing criminal charges may not be the case.
Prime Minister Robert Abela insisted on “the presumption of innocence” despite a four-year magisterial inquiry that showed Scicluna had signed the deal as finance minister.
Prior to the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Scicluna remained defiant to calls for his resignation from the post, saying independent institutions like the Central Bank play by their “own rules”.
He insisted that neither the government nor the opposition could force him to resign.
Calls for his resignation have increased since the court ruled there was enough evidence for him to face criminal charges on the deals he signed as finance minister.
Edward Scicluna is known among his colleagues as someone who always pursues well-paid positions.
Following a career of economic consultancies, mainly to the PN administrations, for which he was paid hundreds of thousands of euro for producing various reports and assessments, Scicluna contested the MEP elections at 69 on the Labour ticket. He was elected.
In 2013, he contested the general elections and was made finance minister in the government of disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat.
In 2020, upon the changing of the guard at Castille, Scicluna was told to make way so that Robert Abela could put his chief of staff, Clyde Caruana, in the finance ministry.
Scicluna resisted and brokered a deal with Abela to be made Central Bank Governor instead.
Scicluna hit the headlines in 2020 when he told the Daphne Caruana Galizia inquiry that he was more interested in saving his well-paid job and position than carrying political responsibility and resigning due to decisions made behind his back.
“I left a €100,000 job as an MEP and my comfort zone,” he told a stunned panel of Judges to justify his lack of political action to stop abuse when he was minister. “Why should I resign because someone else did wrong?” he told the inquiry.
Scicluna receives three different pensions in addition to his remuneration as a Central Bank Governor and another €12,000 until last week as an MFSA board member, from which he was forced to resign.
Aside from his National Insurance pension, available to all who pay their contributions, Scicluna also receives an uncapped pension as a former minister, usually in the region of some €35,000 a year, and another as a former MEP.
According to his latest available declaration of assets, which dates back to 2020, when he was still a political figure, Scicluna possesses a wealthy portfolio, which, in addition to property, includes €700,000 in bank deposits and another €150,000 in bonds.
Edward Scicluna told Robert Abela to piss off.
One question , who will attend the ECB , is it Scicluna or the acting governor.
U MELA X’NAGHMEL MA MMURX NIVVOTA GHAL HNIEZER!!!
It is being alleged here that Scicluna was engaged by PN administrations to produce reports (presumably of the academic “text book approach” type) and was paid “hundreds of thousands” for it. This is news to me. If this is true they were foolish. They could have availed themselves of the services of other economists (including in the public service) who were not so greedy and got better value for money. Scicluna was always like that. At University he would very frequently not turn up for lectures, only interested to go off to do his private work.
V. I.T. Vaganza Imhallsa Temporanja. Or will it be TA’ DEJJEM?
Bil fors. Inkella jkollu jmur jirregistra u jiehu il beneficcju (+ il pensjonijiet kollha li jehu ta).
Ara tghid li ma mortx tajjeb taht il lejber profs ta. Ma taghmel xejn u tmaxxtar 120K euro. Xieraq itik il performance bonus issa wkoll!!
Jirrizenja w jibqa jithallas! Tal blih! U dan ghandu zewg pensjonijiet ta meta kien ministru w MEP! Hallas poplu hi! Baqa jithallas dik l paga ahjar baqa fejn kien ghax issa irridu inhalsu l stess paga lil xi haddiehor! U le le
Who said that having two pensions was pigging out.
Failing sustained mass protests aimed at paralyzing and bringing the government down, I see no way out of this dire situation. Yes, we can report and raise awareness but the opposition remains dead in the water. I really have had enough of the way this country is being run!
The Central Bank of Malta would appear not to be answerable to the Maltese Government, which begs the question, who’s really in control?
Il-hanzir taqtalu denbu, hanzir jibqa’.
He knows too much…
Nistaqsi. Jekk jinstab hati, l flus li se jiehu kemm.idum sospiz se jirritornahom? Diga qed nisma GHANDEK CANS!!!! Jaf dan il bniedem li meta jmut mhu se jiehu xejn mieghu min dak kollu li qieghed jisraq. Ma nghidx jahdem ghalih ghax mhux se jahdem ghalih.
Let’s hope we all live to see him enjoying his money behind bars!
Another super scandal!
Fl ahhar ta xjuhitu bir rejba tilef l irgulija MISKIN.
JIEN MA NGHIDX LI DAHHAL FIL BUT BHAL FEARNE IMMA KIEN RESPONSABLI MIN FLUS IL POPLU U KAGUN LI DAHHAL LIL ALFRED CAMILLERI F LIXKORA
BIL KITCHEN CABINET LI JGHID (ZKUZA) XORTA IVVOTA IVA U APPROVA IL PAGAMENTI.
MINTIEX INNOCENTI HAL MA TIDHER DWARD ( ANGLU TAS SEMA )
t is pertinent to ask why was Edward Scicluna nominated Governor of the Central Bank in the first place ? Was it a political nomination? Was he or the government nominating him aware at that time that he might have to answer for forking out moneys from the public coffers to Vitals /steward health care ? Was the appointment intended to confer immunity on an important issue of public accountability? Scicluna’s adamant reluctance to resign his post calls for deeper onvestigation. Was it a ‘coincidence’ that as Finance Minister he approved a hefty increase in salary of the office of Governor only a short time before he was nominated to the Office.Perhaps too many councidence suggest an intended design.
It has all been explained, repeatedly, in press reports.
Taf tisthi Profs ? Sewwa jghidu mutu mutu ………..
The only correct response to this outrageous and pathetic guy would have been to expel him from the PL and from every other post.
ROBBER Abela has no strength for this, as he himself would be thrown out of his would-be dictator’s chair.
Hopefully the time of corruption and crooks in mafia government will soon be over.
Malta deserves it so much.