The Nationalist Party is calling for the removal of Joseph Cuschieri from the post of Project Green CEO after the Court of Appeal today confirmed the ruling handed down last September by the Industrial Tribunal against him.
Cuschieri had been found guilty of committing an injustice against an employee, ruining his career in the process.
Cuschieri - who had been suspended from the MFSA over a series of abuses and irregularities under his leadership and later appointed by Robert Abela as CEO of Project Green - was found to have caused significant distress to Reuben Fenech and his family when he dismissed him from his job in an illegal and unjust manner, the PN said.
Today's ruling confirms that Cuschieri - who receives a salary of over €86,000 - abused his power. The Court remarked that he clearly struggled to follow the established regulations of the authority he was heading.
In a strongly worded decision, the Court condemned Cuschieri's actions against Fenech, who at the time served as Chief Operations Officer at the MFSA. The Court upheld the Tribunal's findings that the employee was dismissed precisely because he was doing his job properly and had attempted to stop Cuschieri from violating the rules and the law - including issuing multiple direct orders. During court proceedings, Cuschieri admitted to issuing consultancies and contracts without following proper procedure or obtaining the necessary authorisations.
To deliver justice, the Court ordered the MFSA to pay a record sum of €413,688 in compensation for the income lost by the employee over the years he awaited this judgement, as well as for moral damages. The Court also ordered that the employee be reinstated in his previous role at the MFSA.
Following this ruling, which took six years to be delivered, Joseph Cuschieri's position as CEO of Project Green is no longer tenable, the PN said, reiterating its previous call, made after the Tribunal's decision, for Minister Miriam Dalli to immediately remove Cuschieri from his post. Should she fail to act, Prime Minister Robert Abela must take the necessary step himself.
If Cuschieri is not removed, Robert Abela would be further entrenching the toxic culture that nothing matters. He would be rewarding those who act wrongly, break the law, and destroy people's lives, the PN said..
The MFSA must also immediately take legal steps to ensure that the compensation ordered by the Court is not paid from taxpayers' money, but rather directly by Joseph Cuschieri, who committed this blatant and flagrant illegality.
The PN believes the MFSA cannot fail to take these steps and cannot remain silent in the face of such an injustice. Malta's reputation in the financial sector has already suffered heavy blows and cannot withstand further scandal.