‘Minister did not lie’, spokesperson says; Confirms TM tender with Christian Borg company

Transport Minister Aaron Farrugia ‘did not lie,’ a spokesperson for the Transport Ministry said in reaction to a Facebook post made by PN MP Adrian Delia, but has confirmed that a Transport Malta tender had been won by a company belonging to Christian Borg.

Delia had asked the Minister about a company operated by Christian Borg that had recently lost its license through a court decision. He asked the minister whether this company is a provider of vehicles for Transport Malta and LESA. Minister Farrugia had responded by saying that there are two different companies. He said : “Regarding the first one, Delia spoke and described what steps were taken. Regarding the second point, about a company leasing to LESA and Transport Malta and what will happen to it. What I can say is that today legal discussions are ongoing to see what steps to take, as the company is different from the one that Delia mentioned in the beginning, with a different name and shareholders.”

In March, Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff had upheld the decision in an unsuccessful appeal by Christian Borg regarding ‘Princess Garage’, whose car rental service of over 1,000 vehicles has previously operated under the Goldcar brand. Transport Malta had already suspended the licence, and Mintoff’s decision confirms that suspension.

Taking to Facebook, Delia said that what the Minister said was not true, and had posted documents showing a contract with Princess Operations Limited in April 2022.

In response, a spokesperson for the Ministry had said that the Minister ‘did not lie’.

“The minister was asked whether the company whose licence has been suspended by Transport Malta is leasing cars to the same authority. The minister is informed that the tender issued by Transport Malta was won by a company (Princess Operations Limited) which holds an operator’s licence, which is separate and distinct from the operator license in the name of Christian Borg (Princess Garage).”

Princess Operations Limited is a company which, according to the Malta Business Registry, is completely owned by Christian Borg.

Borg is being separately accused of, along with five other men, kidnapping a person, driving without a license and threatening police officials, as amongst others.