The Standards Commissioner has dismissed allegations that former minister Clayton Bartolo had any conflict of interest in the organisation his wedding in 2024.

In a report published on Friday, Standards Commissioner and Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi said that the complaint filed by Matthew Agius that Bartolo, at the time Minister for Tourism, had a conflict of interest because his wedding and wedding reception was held at venues run by a significant player in the tourist industry which he was politically responsible for.

The Commissioner’s investigation was to consider whether Bartolo had benefitted from a favourable concession or arrangement from the operators involved in his wedding.

To determine whether a conflict of interest was present, the Standards Commissioner’s Office considered whether the former Tourism Minister had benefitted from any sort of concession or favourable agreement by his wedding reception venue’s operators.

On top of the fact that Bartolo and his wife had paid “substantial sums” of €110,000 for the hall, food, and services provided by Manta by the Sea, plus €13,762.51 for the use of two vessels, the Standards Commissioner found no reason to discount the testimony by db’s Chief Financial Officer which stated that the former Minister had paid the normal rate for his wedding reception.

The Standards Commissioner also acknowledged that while making these payments, Bartolo did not pay an initial deposit, as he was not asked to. In this regard, the standards czar concluded that the timing of these payments is not relevant to the scope of this investigation, but rather the amounts paid. He decided that Bartolo would have benefitted from favourable treatment only if he was asked to pay a lesser amount than what others would have paid for a similar reception.

Resultantly, no conflict of interest was found in the use of any property or vessels for Bartolo and Muscat’s wedding, thus deeming the complaint, lodged on 1 July 2024, as unfounded.

This investigation did not delve into one of the submitted points of note that the location of the Golden Bee Awards, held at Manoel Island annually during the ex-Minister for Tourism’s tenure, was used for the couple’s wedding ceremony. It is alleged that wedding guests were transported from Manoel Island to the reception venue on a ship owned by members of the Zammit Tabona family – who own the Fortina Group, which sectors of tourism and hospitality fell under Bartolo’s ministerial portfolio.

This point was not looked into as a separate request was made for the Auditor General to investigate this matter.

Writing on social media, Bartolo said that the report had been filed the day after he and his wife Amanda had gotten married and that on that day “there were some who felt that they had to invent an allegation and start a very dangerous plan, the end goal of which was to break my family and I.”

He said that the Standards Commissioner’s report had showed “clearly that at no point was there any use of public funds on my wedding day.  It’s a clear certificate of how these were allegations purely intended to hurt me personally.”

“What remedies are there for families and those close to them who were put through needless suffering?,” he questioned.

“Anyone who threw a stone should not now try to hide their hand, as today more than ever before they will be showing that they are cowards, but they must shoulder political responsibility for their behaviour,” Bartolo said.