Manuel Mallia is Joseph Muscat’s wealthiest minister by some distance, according to the 2013 declarations of assets submitted by members of Labour’s Cabinet.
Dr Mallia – who was an established criminal lawyer before he was appointed Home Affairs Minister – made headlines last year when he declared that he kept more than €500,000 in cash at home.
This year he provided more details of his wealth, declaring an annual income of €227,000, almost €100,000 more than in 2012.
Dr Mallia’s ministerial salary, which last year amounted to €46,000, pales in comparison to his other sources of income.
In 2013, he received €120,000 in rent from various properties, and more than €60,000 as a lawyer earned during the first three months. Dr Mallia also declared a house in Romania.
Almost all ministers, apart from those who used to serve as members of the European Parliament before the last election, reported a substantial increase in income due to their new government salary as Cabinet members.
€120,000
– total Manuel Mallia earned yearly from rent
Although this year’s declarations include more information than last year’s, some ministers stuck to the letter of the ethical code, providing minimal details.
Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi was among those who omitted their wife’s income, even though this is normally considered to be part of a family’s earnings.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has seen his annual income increase by almost €20,000 a year since taking over the reins at Castille, while his bank deposits remained intact as in 2012 (€70,000).
Economy Minister Chris Cardona also increased his income.
Specifying that he married his Ukrainian wife at the beginning of the year, Dr Cardona declared an increase of almost €400,000 in investments and bank deposits and an additional four properties over 2012.
However, most of his newly acquired wealth was his wife’s.
While stating he had €72,000 in bank deposits in 2013, Dr Cardona said his wife held €357,000 in bank deposits, mostly in dollars and Ukrainian hyrvnias.
He also said his wife was a director in a Ukrainian consulting consortium, called LES, and had various properties in Kiev and an apartment in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Deputy Prime Minister and former Air Malta chairman Louis Grech submitted an almost identical financial statement to the previous year.
However, while in 2012 he had failed to specify his income, stating only he was paid the salary and benefits of an MEP, in 2013 he declared €104,000, which included proceeds from three different pensions and almost €24,000 for the first three months of the year when he was still serving as an MEP.
Former tourism minister Karmenu Vella, who has been proposed as Malta’s next European Commissioner, gave one of the most detailed declarations including the addresses of all his seven properties and declaring an income of €665,000 from the sale of a villa in Marsascala.
Gozo Minister Anton Refalo – who has the largest portfolio of properties – saw his declared income triple since he took over the ministry.
Apart from his ministerial salary (€46,606) and his wife’s income as a public service employee (€19,437), he also declared for the first time €13,500 from rent, €13,870 from his work as a lawyer before becoming minister and €23,000 as part payment from the sale of a flat.
At the same time, Dr Refalo declared a loan of more than €812,000 and specified he is making €2,250 a month in mortgage repayments.
Last year, he declared an income of €45,000, which included his wife’s salary and his parliamentary honoraria.
Despite being one of the most successful lawyers in Gozo, in 2012 Dr Refalo earned less than the minimum wage.
Ministerial declarations
Joseph Muscat
Prime Minister
| 2013 | 2012 | |
| Income | €61,000 | €42,000 |
| Monetary assets value | €70,000 | €70,000 |
| Properties | 1 | 1 |
| Loans | €0 | €0 |
Anton Refalo
Gozo Minister
| 2013 | 2012 | |
| Income | €115,000 | €45,000 |
| Monetary assets value | €14,000 | €39,000 |
| Properties | 23 | 24 |
| Loans | €812,000 | €830,000 |
Louis Grech
Deputy Prime Minister
| 2013 | 2012 | |
| Income | €104,000 | no details |
| Monetary assets value | €400,000 | €416,000 |
| Properties | 2 | 2 |
| Loans | €0 | €0 |
George Vella
Foreign Minister
| 2013 | 2012 | |
| Income | €89,000 | €66,000 |
| Monetary assets value | €383,000 | €350,000 |
| Properties | 2 | 2 |
| Loans | €0 | €0 |
Manuel Mallia
Home Affairs Minister
| 2013 | 2012 | |
| Income | €227,000 | €137,000 |
| Monetary assets value | €2,094,000 | €2,039,000 |
| Properties | 7 | 7 |
| Loans | €0 | €0 |
Karmenu Vella
Commissioner Designate
| 2013 | 2012 | |
| Income | €57,000 | €91,000 |
| Monetary assets value | €665,000 | €140,000 |
| Properties | 7 | 8 |
| Loans | €0 | €0 |
Chris Cardona
Economy Minister
| 2013 | 2012 | |
| Income | €52,000 | €23,000 |
| Monetary assets value | €429,000 | €60,000 |
| Properties | 7 | 3 |
| Loans | €490,000 | €577,000 |
Edward Scicluna
Finance Minister
| 2013 | 2012 | |
| Income | €108,000 | no details |
| Monetary assets value | €654,000 | €604,000 |
| Properties | 1 | 1 |
| Loans | €0 | €0 |
Konrad Mizzi
Energy Minister
| 2013 | 2012 | |
| Income | €54,000 | €54,000 |
| Monetary assets value | €315,000 | €315,000 |
| Properties | 2 | 1 |
| Loans | €338,000 | €0 |