The totally ill-informed, scurrilous and libellous allegation made by Mr John Azzopardi Vella (The Sunday Times, August 7), namely that the Marchese Vincenzo Bugeja Conservatorio charity - i.e. its assets since foundation - have tended to "vanish in thin air", is totally repudiated and is merely a figment of Mr Azzopardi Vella's imagination.

The Conservatorio Vincenzo Bugeja is still alive, fully active in all its branches and its assets (both proprietary and financial - even if never enough for what it wishes to achieve) are healthy, as is evident from its annual accounts which, for Mr Azzopardi Vella's information, were also audited by Government auditors, both in view of Government's involvement in many of its activities and in conformity with the founder's testamentary dispositions.

It may also be useful for Mr Azzopardi Vella to note that representatives of Government are nominated to sit on the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bugeja board of trustees, attend all board meetings regularly and participate in its initiatives, all of which are undertaken in strict consonance with the original founding testamentary dispositions.

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