After the extensive media coverage on the subject, presenter Lou Bondi said: “I am hard-pressed to think of another topic that has been discussed so much.”

So, what is the incentive for doing the programme? “Bondiplus will expose many facts which have not yet been made public,” says Lou Bondi cryptically. The team flew to Brussels to investigate the matter. They have exclusive footage taken inside Dar Malta, which will be shown during the programme.

Bondiplus interviewed the editor of The Times, Ray Bugeja about an article, written by Herman Grech, which “revealed” that Malta’s embassy is the most expensive of all the 10 acceding countries which have either bought or rented property.

An interview was carried out with the estate agency which negotiated the sale of Dar Malta. Bondiplus also spoke with another two real estate companies situated in Brussels and asked for their dispassionate opinions. The Bondiplus team also researched the property market to see how Dar Malta compares with other properties in Brussels.

To buy or to rent? Bondiplus checked whether it would have been more cost-effective to rent the property instead of buying it.

Some argued that it would have been better to buy a building farther away from the centre and have the employees commute by taxi. So Bondiplus calculated how much such a proposition would cost in taxi-fares.

Bondiplus also compared the number of employees who will be working full time in Dar Malta to their counterparts in other embassies.

The Bondiplus team reviewed all the print material published concerning Dar Malta and found several discrepancies, some made by politicians and another made in Parliament.

Bondiplus about Dar Malta will go on air on TVM on Tuesday 5 October after the news – a week before the Public Accounts Committee meets to discuss the purchase of Dar Malta.

The studio guests will be Dr Alfred Sant, Leader of the Opposition and Tonio Fenech, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was invited but is unable to attend as he will be in Libya on an official visit.