Questions were raised in Parliament over whether Finance Minister Clyde Caruana broke the law by commissioning a red budget briefcase with Malta’s coat of arms emblazoned on it.

The PN’s justice spokesperson Karol Aquilina asked Caruana whether he was aware that it was illegal to use the national coat of arms without acquiring permission to do so.

The red briefcase in question was a new addition for this year’s Budget.  It replaced the traditional black briefcase and was emblazoned with Malta’s coat of arms and the words ‘Il-Ministru ghall-Finanzi’ (the Finance Minister) and ‘Saħħa l-ħaddiem’ (strength to the workers).

Caruana said that he had paid for the briefcase out of his own funds, because the Finance Minister gets to keep the briefcase at the end of his legislature.

However, Aquilina pointed out that the use of the national coat of arms is regulated by law and that its illegal use carries a fine of €2,300 and an additional penalty of €2.33 per day of continued use.

“Given that you paid for the budget bag from your personal funds, and your name does not appear on a list tabled in parliament of people who sought special permission to use the coat of arms, are you aware this is in breach of the law?,” Aquilina asked.

Caruana laughed off the question and said that he was happy that the Opposition’s criticism on the Budget was centred on the red bag.

“I have no problem answering questions when these make sense,” the minister later said, responding to a supplementary question from Aquilina’s colleague Ivan Castillo.