Lawyer linked to Refalo’s ‘mafia villa’ lease tight-lipped on real owner’s identity

Questions are mounting over the true ownership of the Qala ‘mafia’ villa, long occupied by Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo, as the lawyer named as proxy for the property’s mysterious owner is refusing to reveal her identity.

Alfred Grech, a veteran Gozitan lawyer from Kerċem who is still practising in the Gozo Courts, has declined to answer questions about the controversial villa, which has been linked in Italian media reports to notorious Sicilian mafia boss Totò Riina.

Contacted by The Shift, Grech, who is also the President of the Circolo Gozitano, abruptly cut short the conversation.

“Don’t ask me anything about Anton’s villa as I will not tell you anything,” Grech insisted.

When asked why he had not renewed Refalo’s lease if he was indeed managing the affairs of the alleged owner, Grech was equally dismissive.

“I don’t want to speak to you, and none of this is your business,” he said.

Grech’s name in Refalo’s villa saga was mentioned by Prime Minister Robert Abela when insisting to journalists that he was satisfied with Refalo’s explanations.

Abela revealed that lawyer Alfred Grech acted as proxy for an unidentified “woman from Brescia” who leased the villa to Refalo in 2002 through an unpublished contract.

Yet, as scrutiny intensifies over the so-called “mafia villa”, neither Grech, Refalo, nor the Prime Minister has disclosed the woman’s name, and it remains unclear whether she is still alive or if she ever existed.

A series of questions sent by The Shift to Refalo last week remained unanswered despite repeated reminders.

The veteran Labour minister has repeatedly refused to identify the villa’s owner.

He has also declined to provide a copy of the lease agreement, despite publicly insisting he has “nothing to hide”.

The controversy centres on how Refalo came to occupy the villa in 2002 and how he has retained possession of it for more than two decades.

Ongoing investigations by The Shift have found no evidence linking Refalo personally to Riina, who was arrested in 1993.

However, serious doubts persist over how the minister acquired long-term control of the property and continued using it after the lease expired eight years ago.

Asked why he continued to occupy the villa even though he is officially a squatter – something unbecoming of a Minister, Refalo said that neither the owner nor Alfred Grech has sought to reclaim the property or request payment since then.

The property, which used to host Refalo’s family, is now being used to store part of the Minister’s extensive art collection, said to be worth millions.

Qala residents, speaking to The Shift, recalled that following Riina’s arrest, the villa was abandoned and left in disrepair throughout the late 1990s.

In the early 2000s, however, Refalo, then an opposition MP, suddenly began living there with his young family, despite uncertainty over who owned it.

“Most people assumed he had bought it, as he is always dealing in property,” one neighbour said.

“It is surprising to hear now that he claims to have leased it for all these years. It is not typical of Refalo,” another resident added.

Following his appointment as minister in 2013, Refalo reportedly began using the property to meet constituents, with visitors describing rooms packed with artwork and historical artefacts.

The Shift has already established that the villa has never been declared among Refalo’s assets, despite being in his possession for over 20 years.