The court of magistrates yesterday acquitted two public officials of taking personal interest in dealing with the Mistra case.

The case involved former Development Control Commission (DCC) chairman Philip Azzopardi and DCC member Anthony Mifsud and revolved around the Mistra Outdoor Disco development plan on the land of MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando.

The court decided on the behaviour of the accused and actions according to evidence which proved the accused took no personal interest prior to taking vote for the issue of the outline development permit.

However it was not in the court’s remit to investigate whether the planning application followed the normal proceedings or whether the Development Control Commission of which the accused were a member and chairperson within the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, took its decision according to law and its “planning grounds”.

The prosecution based its case on a statement which the accused released in the course of investigations. They had made reference to meetings organised by Lawrence Vassallo, a liaison officer within Mepa, and which they had attended. Architect Paul Camilleri, the person in charge of the application and MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, the owner himself, were present.

The accused had expressed doubt whether these meetings were legitimate and the prosecution said they were “clandestine”. The presence of Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando in the meetings somewhat influenced their decision in the case.

However, they had pointed out their lack of awareness that Dr Pullicino Orlando was the owner of the land and so had no personal interest. They were aware that the MP was involved in the tourism sector and therefore thought that his presence had to do with this.

In her judgment, Magistrate Edwina Grima said that the personal interest of the two officials in the case was not proven.

At no point did the accused organise the meetings or made personal contact with the architect or land owner. On the other hand, it was in the liaison officer’s duty to organise meetings between the stakeholders involved in a case and there was nothing clandestine about that.

At no point did the accused influence the other board members when discussing the case in a DCC board meeting or prior to voting on the case. Moreover, none of the accused knew Dr Pullicino Orlando on a personal basis. In fact, they were upset that Dr Pullicino Orlando’s interest in the case was not explained to them. This could have changed their decision.

It resulted that during the proceeding of the case, Dr Pullinco Orlando never communicated personally with the accused. They also did not have any interest or shares or involvement in any agreement between the developer, and Dr Pullicino Orlando. They had never received or were promised money or other benefits regarding the case.

The decision on the case was taken by the whole DCC board and did not only depend on the accused. The issue of the full development permit was to be subject to several conditions indicated in the same outline development permit.

The court also decided that the two persons in question had professional integrity.

Police inspector Angelo Gafà prosecuted. Lawyers Joseph Giglio, Stephen Tonna Lowell and Peter Fenech appeared for the accused.

In a statement issued yesterday evening, Mepa noted with satisfaction the court’s decision, exonerating two former Mepa DCC members from all charges that had been brought against them. The authority expressed its full trust in the Maltese jurisdiction.