€50,000 planning fine still pending as illegal Valletta restaurant shuts its doors

A nearly decade-old €50,000 penalty imposed by the Planning Authority (PA) remains unpaid following the closure of Capo Crudo, an upscale but unauthorised waterfront restaurant long linked to politically connected businessman Keith Seychell.

The restaurant, perched on the Marsamxett water’s edge in lower Valletta, ceased operations earlier this year amid mounting debts and dwindling business, according to sources familiar with the matter.

A court case initiated by chef Marvin Schembri, a former associate of Seychell, earlier this year, contesting the fine, has since been withdrawn, with court filings indicating that the parties reached an out-of-court settlement.

The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, and the PA has declined to reply to The Shift’s questions on the issue.

Despite the restaurant’s closure, the €50,000 enforcement fine issued in 2017 remains outstanding.

The case is still being contested before the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT), chaired by lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace. Nearly eight years after the appeal over the fine was lodged, the tribunal has yet to deliver a ruling.

Officials within the PA, speaking privately to The Shift, described the drawn-out saga as emblematic of institutional weaknesses and a broader culture of impunity surrounding unauthorised development on public land.

Keith Seychell, 45, who also doubles as a developer, has close ties to senior Labour Party figures, with disgraced former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri and former environment minister Jose’ Herrera among his business partners.

He opened Capo Crudo shortly after Labour took office in 2013. The premises – formerly the regatta club – were taken over without approval from the Lands Authority, which owns the property. The building was converted into a fine-dining venue despite lacking the required authorisations.

Among the restaurant’s regular patrons was the Maltese government’s own film commissioner, Johann Grech, who frequently hosted visiting foreign actors at the venue.

The PA eventually issued an enforcement order accompanied by a €50-per-day administrative fine, which accumulated to €50,000. The authority instructed the owners to rectify a series of planning infringements.

Seychell and Schembri continued operating regardless, facing no evident interruption from regulators until this year’s abrupt shutdown.

It remains unclear whether the Lands Authority has initiated proceedings to reclaim the property or whether any enforcement action is being contemplated. No criminal or civil cases have been filed against the two businessmen to date.

Seychell has been connected to several controversial ventures. They include the stalled Metropolis Towers development in Gżira – an ambitious project launched in 2015 by then-prime minister Joseph Muscat, but which today remains little more than an excavated pit. At the time, Seychell was reported to be representing Libyan businessman Husni Bey, the development’s purported backer.