Disgraced former MFSA Chief given yet another role as policy advisor by parliamentary secretary

The Maltese Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation, Keith Azzopardi Tanti, has appointed Joseph Cuschieri—former chief executive of the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), who resigned amid scandal in 2020—as a policy advisor on innovation.

Cuschieri, who stepped down from the MFSA following revelations surrounding questionable conduct and conflicts of interest, was recruited at the end of 2023 via a “person of trust” contract.

The agreement, signed by Education Ministry Permanent Secretary Matthew Vella, reportedly includes an “expertise” allowance, although it remains unclear what qualifications Cuschieri brings to the innovation portfolio.

Questions over the nature and scope of Cuschieri’s current involvement remain unanswered. Vella has declined to clarify whether Cuschieri continues to advise Azzopardi Tanti, despite having recently taken on a full-time position as CEO of Project Green—a publicly-funded environmental initiative led by Energy Minister Miriam Dalli.

It is further understood that Cuschieri, through his private firm CP Advisory, may be advising on Malta’s national “space policy”. While no official contract links him to this work, sources indicate he is closely coordinating the policy’s revision in collaboration with a foreign consultancy. His daughter, Katrina Cuschieri, has also been engaged in the project.

Both the Parliamentary Secretary and the Permanent Secretary declined to respond when asked whether Cuschieri’s involvement represents a conflict of interest or how it is being managed.

Cuschieri’s controversial history dates back to his tenure as head of the Malta Gaming Authority and his subsequent appointment at the MFSA.

He resigned from the latter in the wake of a scandal involving a Las Vegas trip financed by businessman Yorgen Fenech, who is currently facing trial over the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Cuschieri was accompanied on that trip by Edwina Licari, whom he had appointed to a €120,000-a-year role at the MFSA.

Following his resignation, Cuschieri resurfaced in the public sector under the political patronage of Minister Dalli, a former colleague from their days at Vodafone.

She later appointed him CEO of Project Green, a government agency with a budget of around €700 million and frequently criticised as a vehicle for political greenwashing.

Cuschieri’s daughter, Katrina, has also benefited from public appointments.

Initially employed as a consultant within Dalli’s private secretariat shortly after graduating, she has since been given a role at Infrastructure Malta, the national roads agency now headed by Labour MEP candidate Steve Ellul – another of Dalli’s protégés.