Keith German, a notary who works at the Government Property Division, is under investigation by the Attorney General’s office for his role in the sale of the land where the former Lowenbrau Factory was situated in Qormi, Minister Owen Bonnici said in reply to a question made by The Malta Independent today at a press conference held by the minister at the Labour Party headquarters.

It was Keith German, in his capacity as a government notary, who signed off on the removal on conditions for the Lowenbrau premises.

The case of the site in question dates back to 1990 when the land was allocated to the brewery company on a perpetual basis, provided that it be used for the production of alcohol.  In 2009, the government had agreed to cancel the conditions attached to the site once Lowenbrau redeemed the ground rent for 465,875 euros.

Questioned by journalists, Minister Bonnici said this case and the Gaffarena scandal differ greatly since in the latter situation the Prime Minister had taken action by accepting Michael Falzon’s resignation. Dr Bonnici labelled Mr Falzon as “a gentleman” for stepping down.

The Minister also said that the affidavit by an unnamed person, which claims that businessman Zaren Vassallo met with Jason Azzopardi and had been promised a compromise on the site, will be published in the coming weeks.

At the press conference, Minister Bonnici repeated most of what he had said during a similar press conference on Saturday.