Labour MPs’ Shanghai private visit raises questions over overlap with ministerial delegation

A business trip by Labour MP Ramona Attard and political operative Charlon Gouder to Shanghai has prompted questions after their presence coincided with an official ministerial delegation led by Justice Minister Jonathan Attard.

Attard and Gouder, formerly partners of the minister at the legal firm AGG Advocates, attended the Luxury Property Shanghai exhibition, a major showcase for international residential developments aimed at attracting Asian high-net-worth investors. The pair were promoting Malta’s permanent residency programme and related property opportunities, according to people familiar with the trip.

Minister Attard also happened to be in Shanghai at the same time and at the same activity, as part of a government mission accompanied by Property Malta, which brought an estimated 80 Maltese developers to the exhibition.

While the private and official delegations were formally separate, the overlap drew attention from participants at the event.

Several told The Shift that the sight of the former law partners operating in parallel – one on official business, the others marketing and selling residency services – risked perceptions of a conflict of interest.

Sources told The Shift that the arrangement “jarred with many of those present”, given the history of the legal practice and the proximity of the three individuals.

Before entering politics, the justice minister was a partner in the firm, which advised on commercial transactions and the sale of Maltese citizenship and residency rights.

Attard and Gouder, former reporters at Labour’s ONE TV, like the minister, have rejected suggestions that they formed part of the ministerial mission. Both told The Shift that their presence in Shanghai was entirely private and commercially driven. Both insisted they had forked out all associated travel and accommodation costs.

“I would like to clarify that I am here as a service provider promoting Malta’s permanent residency, along with other service providers, on an invitation from the Residency Malta Agency, which was open to all,” Gouder said.

“I paid for the trip and accommodation myself. I am representing my company independently.”

Attard and Gouder are no longer formally linked to AGG Advocates.

Gouder now operates as Gouder & Associates, although the ownership structure of the firm is unknown.

Attard, a Labour MP who was co-opted into parliament and previously occupied several government roles, is understood to collaborate with Gouder on select legal assignments.

Gouder became known over the past decade for advisory work for state entities, direct government contracts and lobbying for private sector interests in areas ranging from construction to aquaculture. He also held authorisation to act as an intermediary for the sale of Maltese citizenship under earlier iterations of the country’s investor passport scheme.

Gouder and Attard also attended a party organised for the occasion by Malta’s consul in Shanghai, Lisa Azzopardi, which was also attended by Minister Attard and his delegation.