Education Minister Evarist Bartolo this morning refused to say whether he still trusted his permanent secretary Joe Caruana.

Asked directly to state whether he knew that Mr Caruana was sending emails to his brother Edward concerning pending payments at the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools, Mr Bartolo said that he did not want to reply to questions not related to the press conference underway.

Asked whether in view of these newly-reported facts he still trusted his permanent secretary, the minister ended the press conference and walked out of the room.

The minister refused to comment after the press conference despite requests by Times of Malta.

READ: FTS probe widened to include minister's permanent secretary

The Sunday Times of Malta yesterday reported that after overruling the FTS board on some €400,000 in contested payments to tiling contractor Avant-Garde Projects Lltd, Mr Caruana sent a copy of his order to his brother Edward Caruana - Mr Bartolo's canvasser and an FTS employee.

The latter is currently under police investigation for fraud and corruption.

Mr Caruana refused to explain why he felt the need to inform his brother about the minister's instructions.

Former FTS CEO Philip Rizzo resigned last December, accusing Mr Bartolo of spending months trying to dissuade him from reporting his canvasser's wrongdoing.⁠⁠⁠

Joseph Caruana (left) and his brother Edward (right).Joseph Caruana (left) and his brother Edward (right).

 

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