Lawyer and former member of Parliament Jason Azzopardi has filed a request for a magisterial inquiry to be launched into the Nadur road project carried out by the Gozo Ministry.
Azzopardi said that he filed the application into the road project which ended up costing millions more than it was meant to on Monday.
In his application, Azzopardi singled out Minister Clint Camilleri, permanent secretary for the Gozo Ministry John Borg, and architects Godwin Agius, and Andrew Ellul.
The request asks that the men be investigated for possible crimes, indicating some crimes allegedly committed by all, and others by one or more of the men. "I asked for an investigation into possible offenses, including bribery, criminal association, false declarations, fraud, and money laundering," Azzopardi wrote on Facebook. The aim of asking for an inquiry is to preserve evidence, including messages, emails and documents, he said.
Azzopardi also says in his application that he received information protected by professional secrecy that a €700,000 bribe was paid on these public works "under the guise of consultancy services".
The lawyer said that he filed this request for an inquiry following the conclusion of a National Audit Office investigation. His court application also mentions articles which had appeared in local media, including The Shift News.
The project concerns Triq L-Imġarr, a road which connects Nadur with Għajnsielem. The National Audit Office had criticised the Gozo Ministry for how it handled the major roadworks project, saying that there was insufficient planning and poor management which resulted in the project being substantially more expensive than it should have been.
The initial budget for the works in Triq l-Imġarr was set at €1.8 million after damages on the road resulted in the need for emergency works in order to keep it safe. However, the NAO pointed out that the Gozo Ministry realised that it needed to enter into a second agreement with the contractor because the first "did not cater for the actual requirements of these roads, which were in a more precarious condition than expected." By December 2023, the total road construction cost reached €17 million, while a further €1.5 million were incurred for other ancillary costs. Back in March 2020, Minister Clint Camilleri had said that the project would cost €8 million. The end result was that the project went €10.5 million over budget.
Minister Clint Camilleri made a post on social media, describing the allegations against him as political persecution.
"The political persecution against me and anyone working for the Government continues. Another request for a magisterial inquiry has been filed, by the same people, on Christmas Eve. This time on a Government project that others had abandoned, and that others gave up on and left an entire village without its main access point. Furthermore, in recent weeks, there have been manoeuvres against me, against my family and other people. Instances that include illegal actions against me that have been reported to the Police."
"I understand that being in politics requires accepting being under scrutiny, and I accept this without hesitation. However, what has happened in recent weeks was not scrutiny," he said, but "a senseless attack and coordinated vendetta," Camilleri said.
Regarding the allegations, the minister said: "I categorically deny all the insinuations made. I have no problem answering questions when the need arises."
Earlier in December, lawyer Jason Azzopardi had filed a request for a separate magisterial inquiry into a "racket" in Gozo which he alleged spans both the Gozo Ministry - headed by Clint Camilleri - and Transport Malta - where his wife works, regarding favourable mooring spaces in Mgarr harbour.