Stephen Ciangura, a serving member of the AFM who has been seconded as a personal chauffeur to MCST Chairman Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando and owns security company Executive Security Services Ltd, was never given approval to perform any private work.
The information was given to The Malta Independent by an Armed Forces of Malta spokesman. It has well been known that Stephan Ciangura worked as a bouncer and owns a private security company registered in 2008 with his mother Therese Ciangura being the director of the company but he (Stephen Ciangura) the biggest shareholder, owning 99.9% of the shares.
Last Saturday during a press briefing, Minister for Justice Owen Bonnici published the findings of the magisterial inquiry led by Doreen Clark about the accident at PlusOne night club last November. Paceville entrepreneurs Hugo Chetcuti and Frankie Grima together director of Executive Security Services Stephen Ciangura, are among 21 persons expected to be charged in connection to this incident in the near future.
According to the magisterial inquiry, an unlicensed Serbian bouncer Bojam Spasic employed with Mr Ciangura’s security company, who also did not have an ETC work permit, chose to evacuate the club without informing any of the other bouncers. Mr Spasic, who could not speak Maltese or English was also smoking in the premises.
When this newsroom asked if Mr Ciangura can operate a security company at the same time as being a member of the AFM, a spokesperson said that , “you may wish to be informed that Mr Ciangura has never been given any approval to perform any private work, or to occupy an executive role in any company. Members of the AFM are also precluded at law from obtaining a Private’s Guards license or Local Warden license.”
Asked if they will be suspending him from the Forces, he replied: “If Mr Ciangura would be charged in court, whatsoever the alleged offence, the established AFM internal procedures would come into effect as had always been the case in circumstances of the sort.”
Mr Ciangura who is currently seconded to MCST, an agreement entered into by former Commander, Brigadier (ret’d) Martin G Xuereb has a role of a chauffeur services with MCST Chairman Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. This newsroom also contacted Dr Pullicino Orlando about his driver. He gave conflicting answers regarding a bouncer from his driver’s (Stephen Ciangura) security company and its involvement in the PlusOne incident.
Dr Pullicino Orlando, when asked if he is going to suspend his driver, said , “I have not read the full Magisterial Inquiry you are referring to but it would appear, from what I have read on the papers, that an employee of Executive Security Services was smoking inside a club and ordered an evacuation. I am assuming that this is your reason for asking me whether I should suspend Mr Ciangura from work.”
However, when pressed, and told that the bouncer in question was not only found to have been smoking inside, but was also unlicensed and did not have the necessary ETC permits, he said -“I have been assured by Mr Stephen Ciangura that he did not have an employee working as a security officer during the incident in question.”
Mr Ciangura is also seconded by the Armed Forces of Malta to the MCST Chairman, working as a chauffeur . When asked about salary payment, Dr Pullicino Orlando said, “”His wages are paid by the Council, in line with established government procedure.”
The Reason given by the MCST Chairman for not suspending Mr Ciangura was, “Mr Ciangura was not in any way involved in the incident which is now subject to court proceedings. Since these proceedings have been instituted I believe it to be incorrect to comment further.”