Speaker calls for further investigation into Rosianne Cutajar’s conduct before final vote on report

Speaker Anglu Farrugia called for further investigation into PL MP Rosianne Cutajar's conduct over her involvement in an Mdina property deal, before a decision is taken on whether or not to adopt the report by Standards Commissioner George Hyzler which found the MP in breach of ethics.

The Standards Committee met yesterday afternoon to discuss the commissioner’s report which found that former Parliamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar had breached ethics by not declaring a brokerage fee she had allegedly received for a property transaction which involved Yorgen Fenech.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia, who is the committee’s chairperson, had the casting vote on whether or not to adopt the report after a motion was put forward by the opposition members on the committee, as there was a tie when a vote was taken. PN MPs voted in favour of the adoption of the report against Cutajar, while PL MPs voted against its adoption on the basis that they would like more information on the case first. The Speaker voted against the motion to adopt Hyzler’s report at this stage, but recommended the committee continue its investigation. He argued that he needed more certainty as to whether or not there was a breach.

As such, the probe into Cutajar’s involvement in the deal will continue, where more witnesses are expected to be called in. Issues, however, arose when deciding on who to call to

come before the Committee. The Labour Party MPs on the Committee want to call the tax commissioner, as the Speaker recommended.

The opposition MPs said they would accept this on condition that Charles Farrugia (Rosianne Cutajar’s political aide, who was allegedly the other broker in the property deal) be called after. The PL MPs on the committee took issue, arguing they might want to call a different person instead after the tax commissioner.

The PN MPs proposed that a vote be taken on the idea of calling the tax commissioner on Monday and Farrugia on Tuesday, however no vote ended up being taken. The Committee was unable to come to an agreement and the meeting was suspended by the Speaker.

Aside from yesterday’s afternoon session, a committee session was also held in the morning.

In the morning session, Commissioner Hyzler spoke before the committee and said that Rosianne Cutajar had “insinuated many times” that she wanted a brokerage fee, even though she never explicitly said so. MPs and the committee’s chair Speaker Anglu Farrugia continued to question Hyzler about the report.

Hyzler said that he had been tasked with reaching a conclusion based on prima facie evidence, which is what he had done.

Questions centred on chats between Cutajar and Yorgen Fenech, and the interpretations one can take of these chats, with Hyzler saying that even though neither Cutajar nor Charles Farrugia had explicitly said that Cutajar should receive a brokerage fee – the implication that Cutajar should be paid such a fee was there.

Asked why Joseph Camilleri – the seller of the Mdina property in question – had not taken up the matter in court even after he sent a legal letter to Farrugia and Cutajar, Hyzler said that it was his understanding that Camilleri had tried to settle the matter and seek remedy out of court, but that he couldn’t say for sure what his intentions were.

Hyzler was asked by PN MP Karol Aquilina whether a letter sent to the Speaker by Farrugia on Monday, wherein Charles Farrugia said that the money he received was an “ex gratia” payment for introducing the seller, Joseph Camilleri, and the buyer, Yorgen Fenech, changed the outcome of his investigations or supported it further. Farrugia claimed in the letter that Rosianne Cutajar did not bene it from any of these payments to him. An ex-gratia payment is a voluntary payment made by someone who is not contractually obliged to do so.

Hyzler observed that Charles Farrugia is disputing that the payment was a brokerage fee, and that it was a present. He said that had Cutajar’s defence been that the money was an introducer’s fee which she didn’t have to declare because the transaction hadn’t gone through, then one might have been able to reason otherwise, but her position was that she took absolutely no money – which rendered Hyzler’s position as one where he had to see whether it was true or not.

Cutajar has denied receiving a brokerage fee.