Chief passport salesman moves to agriculture consultancy

Gozitan Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo has appointed Joe Vella Bonnici, the former chief of Malta’s cash for passports scheme, to a new government job as a consultant on agriculture matters.

The Shift is informed that Vella Bonnici was given a €20,000 a year top-up from state funds to act as Refalo’s consultant on developing agricultural businesses.

According to his person of trust contract, obtained by The Shift following a Freedom of Information request, Vella Bonnici is only obliged to work 15 hours a week and can provide his advice to Minister Refalo without the need to attend the Ministry regularly.

Vella Bonnici was made the first Chairperson of Identity Malta in 2014, as soon as disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat introduced the possibility for non-European millionaires to start buying Maltese (and EU) citizenship.

In 1998, Vella Bonnici gave Muscat his first-ever government-paid job at the Institute for the Promotion of Small Enterprises (IPSE), which was set up by former Prime Minister Alfred Sant.

Vella Bonnici’s tenure as head of Malta’s passport sales programme was marred by claims of corruption, sleaze and commissions involving top government officials, including the OPM’s then chief of staff, Keith Schembri.

In 2017, Vella Bonnici was silently removed from Identity Malta. No reason was ever given for his sudden departure.

His exit coincided with the start of a police investigation regarding claims of fraudulent visas and alleged commissions passed on to Identity Malta officials by real estate agents.

At the time, the police confirmed that they were investigating claims that sensitive information on prospective passport buyers was being passed on to specific real estate agents in return for commissions on selling or leasing high-end properties to prospective new Maltese citizens.

No charges were ever presented in court on these claims.

After leading Identity Malta, Vella Bonnici started offering business consultancy to Destination Europe Ltd, a private Maltese firm specialising in passport sales.

While Vella Bonnici and former Labour reporter turned lawyer Charlon Gouder were the only two members of the company’s team, they were not its owners.

Malta Business Registry records show that the company is still active and owned by Cypriot resident Josef Friedrich Santin, who holds an Austrian passport. Gao Mao, a Chinese resident of Gzira, is the company’s secretary.

Gouder, a member of Joseph Muscat’s defence team, countering corruption and money laundering charges for the former prime minister, is still registered as the company’s agent connected to selling passports and residency visas.