A complaint filed with the Standards Commissioner over constituency offices held by Minister Silvio Schembri was deemed to be 'unfounded', the Commissioner said in a report.

Robert Aquilina, who was Repubblika President at the time, had filed a complaint to the Standards Commissioner over a political office Schembri used.

The Commissioner, in his report, referred to two reports by The Shift News that Schembri, who was Lands Minister at the time, saying that he was in possession of two constituency offices (one in Luqa and another in Siggiewi) linked to two developers, which were the news items which led to the complaint being filed. Aquilina said in his complaint that "Schembri may have received benefits from major Maltese businessmen and contractors, who allegedly granted him the use of their properties for political offices."

"This alleged conduct could create or reasonably create the impression that his judgment may be compromised, or that he may be placed under an improper obligation, thus breaching the Code of Ethics," Aquilina said.

The Commissioner noted that the complaint had been based on reports in the media that make a direct connection between offices acquired by Schembri in Luqa and Siggiewi and the transfer of public land in Mellieha and St George's Bay to the developers. "The allegation is that the Minister ordered the transfer of the land in question to the owners of the offices in return for allowing him to use the offices under terms favourable to him," the Commissioner's report read.

Regarding the property in Luqa, the Commissioner said that if there was any complaint that could have been justified at the time it was submitted, today it has been superseded due to the acquisition of this property by Schembri. The promise of sale between Gap Luqa Ltd and ZF Ltd for and office and apartment in Luqa had been signed in December 2021. It stipulated that the contract had to be signed no later than end of June 2022. The Commissioner noted that the actual sale of the office in Luqa took place through a contract dated 5 May 2023, which was more than a month after a complaint was lodged against Minister Schembri. "It is unclear why the contract for the sale of the office took so long to be concluded."

Regarding the Siggiewi office, the Commissioner said that the rent for this property amounts to €3.50 per day, or €319.38 every three months. "This appears to be a low amount compared to current commercial rental rates, however, the undersigned cannot arbitrarily decide on this matter."

Regarding another office in Rabat, the Commissioner said that it is being used by the minister 'on tolerance' by a doctor who is a friend of his and does not fall within the remit of the complaint.

Among other things, the Minister had told the Commissioner that the Lands Authority is autonomous and that he is not involved in the operations or decisions of this authority. The Standards Commissioner's report reads that: "It appears that the law does not grant the minister the power to issue instructions regarding the transfer of particular parcels of land."

The Commissioner noted that similar provisions apply to other public authorities, "but it seems that some of these authorities were nonetheless given, and followed, instructions to accommodate certain individuals. Unfortunately, therefore, the law cannot be regarded as a guarantee of a public authority's autonomy. One can imagine that it is difficult for members of a public authority's governing board to assert their independence if they depend on the minister for their appointment. In this case, however, it should be noted that the board of governors responsible for the Lands Authority is composed of ten members, including one government MP and one opposition MP. The minister responsible for the Authority appoints only five members of the board. The Prime Minister appoints the chairperson and the government MP. The opposition representative is nominated by the Leader of the Opposition. The remaining two members are nominated by the Planning Authority and the Environment and Resources Authority respectively. When Minister Silvio Schembri was responsible for the Lands Ministry, these entities fell under two other ministers. This means that the Lands Authority's board of governors does not fall under the control of a single minister."

"Therefore, Minister Schembri cannot be considered to have had the power to order the Authority to transfer land in Mellieħa and St George's Bay, either de jure or de facto, and on his part there was no possibility of a conflict of interest linked to the transfer of the land in question," the Commissioner said, clearing Schembri.

However the Commissioner, speaking generally, said that this conclusion "does not mean that there is no scope for preoccupation if a minister receives benefits from developers or businesspeople, or that such benefits could not give rise to a conflict of interest in different circumstances. The acquisition of a constituency office can be seen as part of the expenses a minister or Member of Parliament incurs for his political activities. Under the previous Commissioner for Standards, this Office had already expressed the view that there should be effective control over such expenses so that ministers and MPs do not engage in a spending race or incur obligations towards third parties in an effort to cover their costs."

The complaint was found to be unfounded by the Commissioner, and the case was closed.