Kurt Farrugia ‘forgot’ to publish direct orders

Malta Enterprise has admitted failing to publish procurement information from 2023 within the legally required reporting cycle, when the agency was headed by Kurt Farrugia, the former spokesman for disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat.

The admission follows last week’s publication of 29 pages of procurement lists in the Government Gazette, covering July 2023 to June 2026 and containing more than €14 million in quantified contract values, excluding VAT.

Public procurement regulations require the head of a contracting authority to publish departmental contracts exceeding €5,000 every six months, alongside variations exceeding five per cent of original contract values.

Asked by The Shift to explain the glaring delay, Malta Enterprise said an internal review established that publication covering certain procurement undertaken during 2023 “had not been effected within the ordinary publication cycle”.

It stressed that the information had been retained internally and that the omission concerned publication alone.

The agency said it had since submitted the information for publication and taken administrative steps to ensure future compliance.

Its reply addressed only 2023, although the release also contains lists covering subsequent years under George Gregory, who became CEO in September 2024.

Farrugia moved from Muscat’s communications office to Malta Enterprise in 2019, months before the prime minister’s departure. His package exceeded €130,000 annually, with provisions potentially taking it to €180,000.

He subsequently moved to Transport Malta, where he was given a package exceeding €150,000 annually.

Farrugia was unceremoniously removed from Transport Malta last June after his relationship with Transport Minister Chris Bonett deteriorated. Ministry sources said he was informed while holidaying in Monaco with businessmen linked to Transport Malta contracts.

Days later, he was appointed CEO of Residency Malta. He also became chairman of the National Development and Social Fund.