Last year, the newly-appointed Italian ambassador to Malta, Paolo Andrea Trabalza, accompanied beleaguered Italian businessman Michele Martone to a long-delayed meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to discuss the 35-year-old saga of the Excelsior Hotel in Floriana, 51 per cent of which belonged to Dr Martone.

At that meeting, Dr Gonzi promised he would study the case and give his reaction.

Now, more than a year later, the Italian ambassador is still waiting for Dr Gonzi’s reply and, as Dr Trabalza told Sicilian television station TeleVallo just a few days ago, he has now sent Dr Gonzi a reminder and is still awaiting his reply.

Interviewed by Italian journalist Dottoressa Pintor, Dr Martone said he and his family had tried to block the sale of the hotel in 1991 but he and his lawyer, Giovanni Bonello, had been “surrounded, almost threatened” and asked to give in and permit the sale. They accepted to do so after being given a guarantee by the then Minister of Finance (George Bonello du Puis) that once the sale was made, he would be able to repatriate his initial investment, or what was left of it.

Many years later, it has not proved possible so far. Ambassador Trabalza said the politicians in Malta couldn’t do much more than urge the speeding up of the process. He hoped that Dr Martone, now 83, would not have to become a centenarian before he got his money back.

As Italy’s ambassador to Malta, he added, he has worked hard to encourage greater links between Malta and Italy, especially the setting up of joint ventures which could bring mutual benefits but, as Dottoressa Pintor was quick to point out, not many Italian entrepreneurs would be encouraged to invest in Malta if what befell Dr Martone were to happen to them.

At one point in the half-hour interview, Dr Martone became quite emotional and spoke of the “humiliations” he had to suffer, adding that while many people in Malta are honest, he has come across some “mascalzoni” who pocketed money that was never theirs.