Roderick Galdes won't be investigated by the Standards Commissioner over allegations made about him by former Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi. Not because they're untrue but because Mizzi made those allegations more than a year after they happened. Bizarrely, the Standards Commissioner only investigates allegations that took place in the last year even if they surfaced today. Mizzi's allegations were pretty serious. She accused Galdes of hobnobbing with contractors. She claimed he interfered in the running of Malita investments.
Now Galdes is celebrating his "victory" on his ">Facebook page. "I would like to reiterate that I will keep defending my name and my integrity from those who attempt to assassinate my character and besmirch my reputation. I am doing this in a transparent way and with concrete evidence that I have submitted".
Galdes had plenty of opportunities to provide his "concrete evidence". He was even given airtime on Andrew Azzopardi's Saturday morning programme. But instead of providing his "concrete evidence" he descended into hysterical accusations and more deflection. He claimed the Dolomites are huge and that he bought his block of apartments in Forni di Sopra on the cheap. Yet he didn't reveal how much that 3- storey block cost him or how much he spent on works to upgrade it. He hasn't denied owning multiple properties in Sicily in addition to another property in the UK and multiple properties in Malta and Gozo. He hasn't presented the slightest evidence to show how he managed to accumulate a veritable multi-national property empire with his meagre €60,000 salary.
He claimed his wife works and that's how he could afford all those properties. Yet according to Galdes' own last published ministerial assets declaration his wife had no income until 2021. She was subsequently appointed on Wasteserv's Board of Directors, not because she has any qualifications or expertise in waste, but because she's Galdes' wife.
Galdes claims that he listed his Forni di Sopra property in his asset declarations. The last published ministerial declarations are from 2023, covering the year 2022. Robert Abela has refused to publish them ever since and has now moved to completely abolish them. Galdes claimed that journalists can see the declarations submitted by MPs to the Speaker. The truth is that if any journalist is given permission to see a particular declaration, that journalist cannot take photos or copies of it. That's why Galdes' assets declarations submitted to parliament have never been published. That's not transparency. That's top secrecy.
So was Marlene Mizzi lying?, Andrew Azzopardi challenged Galdes. Galdes was stumped.
In his Facebook post Galdes insisted he didn't remove Mizzi from her position at Malita - he just didn't reappoint her. "The evidence and facts all show that the term of the Board of Directors had expired and as is normal practice, a new board was appointed. This didn't happen arbitrarily, but with appropriate consultation and with respect to established procedures," Galdes commented.
Malita Investments was meant to operate on an independent and commercial basis. The company had no financial problems while Mizzi was there and as long as she resisted Galdes' attempts to meddle. But Galdes conveniently got rid of Mizzi. And Malita collapsed. Malita's millions went to a newly established company with no construction experience in Malta. That company happened to be owned by Lorenzo di Pinto, a business partner of Galdes' brother Malcolm.
Malita went on to accumulate massive debts. Its shares slumped. Its chairman and company secretary resigned. Key questions about the turmoil at Malita investments remained unanswered. Galdes' interference resulted in chaos. Despite promises of a 7% annual dividend, Malita was left with so much debt it was unable to pay out its shareholders - the first time since 2012.
Many pensioners and small investors invested in Malita because they believed a government company would provide reliable income generation. Instead Galdes brought Malita to its knees. Malita secured a 22 million loan from the European Investment Bank in 2024, it raised 29.9 million from private financing and it obtained a 7 million loan from the Council of Europe Development Bank. It left contractors unpaid for their work and key projects incomplete. Where did Malita's millions go?
Yet on March 15 Galdes was still hobnobbing with Prime Minister Robert Abela and uploading photos of the two of them smiling broadly - "this morning at Paola's square" - as if nothing had happened. Even if Galdes' inexplicable accumulation of properties around Europe and the suspicious subcontracting of multi-million projects to his brother's business partner weren't red enough flags, the collapse of Malita investments should have triggered Abela to demand clear answers from Galdes. Instead Abela happily poses for photos with him.
Meanwhile Galdes keeps posting self-pitying posts on his ">Facebook page - "I know what it means when they try to tarnish your name with allegations and speculations before the facts emerge".
What is Galdes waiting for to produce those facts? He could start off by telling the nation how much he paid for that residential block in Forni di Sopra in the Dolomites and for works carried out on it. He could reveal what he paid for that Catania ground floor apartment, the Syracuse villa, the rather large villa complex in Ragusa and the sprawling agricultural land in Sicily. He could publish the receipts for work carried out to transform that Sicilian villa from a derelict uninhabitable state to a fully converted residential property. He could explain how he developed his Siggiewi property into tourist rental accommodation. He could publish correspondence and communications with mega-developer Joseph Portelli, explaining how he acquired a penthouse with its airspace, garage and rooftop jacuzzi for just 140,000 euro. He could reveal the arrangements behind the bartering of his Xaghra apartment for a plot of land in Gharb with the same Joseph Portelli and his business partner Mark Agius and explain how they built a house for him on that land. Finally he could convince the public that he did all this with just 65,532 euro in annual earnings and just 23,000 euro in savings and an outstanding loan of 166,947 euro when he started off in 2013.
Galdes preached from his Facebook pulpit - "The people want serious politics which is more responsible and built on the truth". He could start by being honest with the public and publish documents relating to his multiple properties, his income stream, his tax returns and his communication with those very same contractors Marlene Mizzi accused him of hobnobbing with.
"Always present at the District offices to hear you and work for you", was Galdes' message on 17 March. If he had worked for us maybe Malita wouldn't be on its knees. Isn't it odd that somebody so proficient at his own wealth creation is so hopeless at managing public finances?