Malta gets negative review in anti-corruption report
Malta is “not in sufficient compliance” with the recommendations made by a European anti-corruption body, with only four of the 23 recommendations having been fully implemented, according to a report by the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body GRECO. The published report reveals that nine recommendations made by the anti-corruption expert group had not been addressed at all, while a further 10 were only “partly implemented”. Malta has failed to lay down any rules governing contacts between top officials and lobbyists trying to influence decision-making and has so far not beefed up its requirements for top executives to declare conflicts of interest. The report also finds that “no concrete steps” have been taken to bolster MP’s asset declarations. (Times of Malta)
Former Speaker edges closer to Presidency
Reports suggest that former Speaker Myriam Spiteri Debono is likely to succeed George Vella as President of the Republic once his term ends on April 4th. According to media reports, Prime Minister Robert Abela has proposed her name to Opposition Leader Bernard Grech, who will convene the parliamentary group of the Nationalist Party (PN) to determine the next steps. According to these same reports, the PN will support this nomination. (Maltatoday)
Magistrate abstains from fraud case
The arraignment of five men linked to a social benefits fraud scheme is now uncertain following the unexpected recusal of the magistrate assigned to oversee the case. During the scheduled session on Thursday, Magistrate Leonard Caruana declared that he had been informed of certain proceedings. In the interest of upholding the administration of justice, he opted to abstain from presiding over the case. Consequently, the court returned the case documents to the registrar for reassignment. They are to face charges of organising and forming part of a criminal organisation, defrauding the Department of Social Security of an amount in excess of €5,000, forging official documents that entitle holders to payment and knowingly making use of such documents. (The Malta Independent)
