Owen Bonnici retains aide who admitted to social benefits fraud

Culture Minister Owen Bonnici is employing in his private secretariat a political canvasser who has admitted in court to defrauding the state of roughly €23,000 in disability benefits.

Antoniella Cutajar, a Zejtun resident and long-standing canvasser from Bonnici’s hometown, has remained on staff as a secretariat officer despite her guilty plea earlier this year, ministry sources told The Shift.

Bonnici did not respond to questions on why an employee who admitted to benefits fraud continues to serve as a person of trust within his office.

Cutajar was among more than a dozen individuals arraigned in 2024 over a benefits scheme reserved for people with disabilities.

Prosecutors accused her of having received around €23,000 to which she was not entitled, as part of what investigators allege was a wider racket linked to former Labour MP Silvio Grixti and several Labour canvassers embedded in government ministries.

She avoided a custodial sentence after receiving a presidential pardon, granted on the recommendation of Prime Minister Robert Abela, contingent on the repayment of the funds and her cooperation with investigators. Her case, along with 13 others, was subsequently dropped a few days ago following the pardon.

Despite the admission of criminal wrongdoing, Cutajar remains part of Bonnici’s trusted inner circle. It is unclear why the minister has not moved to suspend or dismiss her, and officials have offered no explanation.

Public broadcaster removes name from report

In a separate development that has fuelled more concerns about political influence over the media, Malta’s state broadcaster PBS removed Cutajar’s name from an online news report on the court proceedings.

On 22 November, PBS initially published a story identifying Cutajar and the other accused individuals after the court dropped the charges. All names were later scrubbed from the article.