Christian Borg is set to be fined a paltry €2 every day by the Planning Authority for an illegally built structure on the roof of his Swieqi penthouse.
Borg, who is facing criminal charges on a raft of serious crimes including kidnapping, money laundering, and tax fraud, was the subject of complaints earlier this month when a structure resembling a large caged enclosure was seen being built on top of his penthouse in Swieqi.
Borg is a known owner of exotic animals.
The structure was exposed by Momentum leader Arnold Cassola, and the night after the independent politician revealed the structure, workers covered it up with white boards.
An enforcement notice was issued by the Planning Authority against Borg for the development, which is in an apartment block situated on the corners of Triq il-Giebja and Triq ta' L-Ghoqod in Swieqi.
The PA noted “structures built without permit on roof of penthouse, which exceed the maximum permissible height, for the area. Furthermore, the glass railing at penthouse level was installed at the edge of the balcony, instead of being receded as indicated in the approved drawings of permits PA/06629/16 and PA/05148/17, respectively.”
It noted that there was “no permission sought” for the development and identified Christian Borg as the contravenor.
Cassola on Tuesday shared a document showing the enforcement notice which was issued against Borg by the Planning Authority, with a table indicating that once 15 days have elapsed from the notice being issued then daily fines of €2 will start to be issued.
The enforcement notice was issued on 4 April – 11 days ago – meaning that thus far, no fines have actually been issued against Borg.
The document reads that if 365 days elapse without the illegal development having been dealt with, the daily fine will double to €4.
Borg has made the headlines for the wrong reasons in the past: in 2022 he was one of four men charged with kidnapping a man, and he has since also been charged with various crimes related to money laundering and tax fraud.
He was also involved in a controversial property deal with saw Prime Minister Robert Abela pocket €45,000 back in 2018 – before Abela was Prime Minister. PN MPs such as Karol Aquilina have frequently made insinuations about the relationship between Borg and the Prime Minister, and Aquilina has said that he will be summoning Borg as a witness when he faces Parliament’s Privileges Committee after he implied that Abela had “criminal associations.”