MIA awards tender to Christian Borg, ignoring freezing order and money laundering charges

Malta International Airport (MIA) is being accused of lowering its standards and ignoring potential serious criminal activity, as it has just awarded a tender to Christian Borg, who is facing a raft of criminal charges and an asset freeze of €52 million.

The Shift can confirm that, following the issue of an Expression of Interest (EOI) in summer for the lease of office space and car parking spaces, the airport company, after an evaluation, decided that Borg, through his company Princess Holdings Ltd, was to be selected.

This left competing companies bewildered, not only due to Borg’s reputation, but also due to a €52 million asset freeze imposed by the Court amid ongoing criminal proceedings against him and his companies, including charges of kidnapping, money laundering, and tax evasion, among others.

The EOI, seen by The Shift, includes provisions indicating that individuals undergoing criminal procedures or facing allegations of tax fraud may be disqualified.

However, according to rival companies that also submitted bids, MIA “chose money over reputation”, while ignoring its own rules.

Contacted by The Shift, a spokesperson for MIA refused to confirm that Borg was one of the winning bidders selected by the company.

When pressed, the spokesperson explained that the company considers final convictions, not criminal procedures, in its selection process.

Referring to its EOI document, the MIA spokesperson specified that a questionnaire in the offer document, which is “directly relevant to the eligibility criteria and the bidder’s capability to participate,” required them to provide essential details, including “convictions conclusively decided by a Court.”

So far, all charges against Borg are still pending.

Rival competitors told The Shift that the MIA’s reasoning is “just playing with words and legalisms to allocate the tender to an allegedly dangerous but financially powerful individual.”

They also stated that they could not understand how a freezing order, including one on his company, Princess Holdings Ltd, which won the tender, can be ignored by the MIA, and also how Borg continues to operate his business.

In 2024, Borg, together with his 28-year-old girlfriend from Paola, was arraigned in Court and accused of a raft of criminal charges, including defrauding millions in VAT and tax, as well as other money laundering activities.

Two years before, in 2022, Borg was also accused, along with four other friends, of kidnapping a man, torturing him, and threatening to rape his sister.

Borg is claiming he is innocent.

According to a freezing order, Borg, 32, has approximately €52 million in assets frozen, including accounts belonging to his numerous companies, such as Princess Holdings Ltd, No Deposit Cars Ltd, and Lion Funding Ltd.

Hundreds of cars, which Borg uses in his car rental business and operates from MIA and other locations under the name ‘Sicily by Car’, have also been included in the freezing order.

In 2020, during the Labour leadership contest, Borg publicly showed his support for Prime Minister Robert Abela, describing him as ‘his friend’.

It later emerged that, before becoming Prime Minister, Abela had conducted real estate business with Borg, even though he was a client of his law firm. This relationship went against provisions in the lawyer’s code of conduct.