16 Labour MPs, including the Prime Minister, have failed to declare their assets as required by the MPs’ code of ethics. All PN MPs have filed their declarations for the year ending 31 December, 2013.

The deadline for the submission was 30 April, 2014, but a number of MPs from both sides of the House did not respect this deadline and were still filing their declarations up until last Friday.

The asset declarations were checked by this paper yesterday morning, meaning that more Labour MPs may have filed their declarations prior to yesterday evening’s Parliament session.

The submissions were relatively haphazard. Labour MPs Godfrey Farrugia and Marlene Farrugia diligently provided copies of all their bank statements and holdings, whereas the majority of MPs simply wrote down a figure without providing any supporting documentation.

The no shows

Ministers:

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, deputy prime minister Louis Grech, Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna, Health and Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi, Transport Minister Joe Mizzi, Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis, Economy Minister Chris Cardona, Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli, Gozo Minister Anton Refalo, Social Solidarity Minister Michael Farrugia.

MPs

Luciano Busuttil, Charles Buhagiar, Stefan Buontempo, Joe Debono Grech and Deborah Schembri.

A separate 31 March 2014 deadline for asset declarations imposed solely on Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries was also missed.

The deadline was not respected last year either, with the asset declarations only being filed in mid-July 2013.

Busuttil declared indirect shareholding in ‘direct orders’ company

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil declared a 33.4% holding in Gansam Holdings Ltd, which in turn holds 50% of Europa Research and Consultancy Services (ERCS) Ltd, GSN Ltd and GS services Ltd. ERCS is the controversial ‘direct orders’ company which was at the centre of a political storm last month.

The government and Labour Party claimed that ERCS benefited from over €1 million in direct orders under a Nationalist government when Dr Busuttil was still a director in the company.

€31,827 for three months’ MEP work

The Opposition leader earned a cool €31,827 for three months’ work as an MEP between January and March of 2013, prior to resigning and taking up a seat in the Maltese parliament.

His salary as Opposition leader amounted to €27,017 between May-December 2013.

Dr Busuttil holds €36,422.07 in Maltese accounts and €39,322.17 in Belgian accounts.

He declared a loan of €190,000 and a sanction letter from a Maltese bank for a €200,000 loan which has not been taken up yet.

Nice assets: Marlene Farrugia

Marlene Farrugia declared €65,964 in Spanish, German and Italian bank accounts.

She also declared over €3 million in various investments, and a loan overdraft of €123, 612.

Ms Farrugia also owns 12 properties in Malta as well as land in Bulgaria.

Ms Farrugia’s partner, the former Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia, declared  income of €4,000 as a doctor, €540 as a part-time lecturer at the University of Malta and €40,444 as his Ministerial salary for 2013.

Dr Farrugia also has a business loan of €246,727.17 and a personal loan of €42, 617.32.

His replacement, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Chris Fearne, declared just over €130,000 in bank savings and an investment portfolio worth €259,000, as well as three properties.

PN MP Kristy Debono declared savings of “circa €50,000.” (A different figure was erronously given in today's edition of the Malta Independent. Apologies)

The fruits of labour

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici was not as thrifty in 2013 as he was in 2012. Dr Bonnici declared bank savings of €1,037.38, down from the €2,000 declared for the year before that.

Dr Bonnici has made inroads on the €71,402.27 loan declared in last year’s asset declarations. The loan amount declared this year was for €67, 903.55.

In this year’s asset declarations, Environment Minister Leo Brincat estimated an investment portfolio worth €89,475, down from the €100,334.26 estimated the previous year.

Parliamentary Secretary for EU funds Ian Borg managed to save €5,000 in the year, with his declared savings rising to €15,000 from the previous year’s declaration.

Dr Borg also declared three properties, an apartment in Dingli and two constituency offices in Dingli and Safi.

Former Parliamentary Secretary for active aging Franco Mercieca declared eight properties plus some land, but failed to declare the income earned from the continuation of his ophthalmology practice when he was still in Dr Muscat’s Cabinet. (Dr Mercieca has called this paper and said he did declare the earnings as a global figure together with his income as a parliamentary secretary (€75,096).

Labour MP Deo Debattista earned €4,798 from his chairmanship of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority and €3,046 in savings.

Bad year?

PN deputy leader for Parliamentary Affairs Mario de Marco declared one single bank account with savings of €7,511, and 1,500 shares in I.C.S company, as well as a number of directorships and ownership of four properties.

His fellow deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami appeared to have a slightly better year, declaring bank accounts totalling €620,565, bonds worth €247, 810 and ownership of seven properties.

Dr Fenech Adami also has a loan of €169,309.39.