Magistrate Brigitte Sultana has recused herself from hearing investigation requests into corruption claims concerning the Gozo minister, Clint Camilleri. The requests were filed by lawyer Jason Azzopardi.
The requests concern three allegations of wrongdoing: an alleged criminal racket involving the ministry and Transport Malta, the costs of Gozo Sports Complex's Olympic-sized swimming pool, and the Nadur road project.
All requests were filed in Malta first before magistrates Ian Farrugia and Antoine Mifsud Bonnici. In both cases, the magistrates said the requests were filed in the wrong judicial jurisdiction, as the allegations took place in Gozo.
Gozo ministry racket
Azzopardi's allegations centred around information he said he had about a racket on the giving out of berths in the Mgarr Port in Gozo, which he said involved false declarations, bribery, and criminal association.
The racket, the former PN MP alleged, had been ongoing from 2022 up until the previous few weeks.
He alleged that the racket was done with the Gozo Minister's blessing and also mentioned that his wife was the Head of Transport Malta in Gozo but was also working as a lawyer in Gozo's Courts frequently during working hours.
The allegations levelled by Azzopardi involved criminal association, money laundering, bribery, false declarations, and computer misues among others.
Nadur road project
Azzopardi also requested a magisterial inquiry into the Nadur road project carried out by the Gozo ministry. He claimed a €700,000 bribe was paid.
Azzopardi singled out the minister, the permanent secretary, and architects Godwin Agius and Andrew Ellul.
Azzopardi's request is based on the outcome of the National Audit Office's investigation that found a cost overrun of more than €10 million on the project and several reports that appeared in The Shift News. The NAO investigation had been requested by Arnold Cassola in 2023.
The lawyer claimed the size of the cost overruns was not coincidental or the result of extraordinary unforeseen circumstances. Azzopardi further claimed that he had received confidential information protected by "professional secrecy" that a €700,000 bribe was paid on this project "under the guise of consultancy services".
Camilleri refuted the claim and accused Azzopardi of "weaponising the law".
Gozo Sports Complex
Azzopardi's request was for an inquiry regarding the Olympic-sized swimming pool and aquatic centre which had ran €8 million over budget. Construction costs for the project amounted to over €17 million, when they were meant to cost €9 million.
Azzopardi had quoted articles that appeared in the press referring to the expenditure on the pool's construction in Gozo.
Azzopardi had said that the project was meant to have been completed years ago, but was not and the expenses kept on increasing.
Azzopardi said that Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri and his Permanent Secretary John Borg squandered public funds by ordering that work that was done on the pool years ago be removed so that they could inflate the project's costs.
Azzopardi also alleged that the concrete used for the construction of the pool was purchased from a factory that operates illegally in Gozo.