Economy Minister Chris Cardona secured a “special clause” in a lease agreement for his Portomaso furnished apartment, the Nationalist Party pointed out yesterday, saying the contract was “not credible”.
The clause says the minister only has to pay his dues – €1,400 a month – at the end of his 10-month lease and not in monthly instalments as is normally done in rental agreements.
According to the PN, this “raises more questions” about the proximity between the minister and big businessmen with whom the government is conducting business.
Blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia has claimed that Dr Cardona is living in a Portomaso luxury apartment provided to him for free by Tumas Group businessman Silvan Fenech.
Tumas Group is a shareholder in Electrogas, the consortium building the new gas-fired power station at Delimara.
The blogger also claimed that Dr Cardona has been frequenting a “shady” bar in Valletta, together with members of his staff.
If the Prime Minister believes this agreement, then he believes anything the ministers tell him
In response, Dr Cardona denied the claim that the Portomaso apartment was being provided to him for free or that the person renting it to him was part of the power station consortium. He published the lease agreement, signed on December 1, 2014.
However, the agreement shows that, contrary to normal practice, Dr Cardona is only expected to pay his dues – €14,000 – at the end of the 10-month lease
It also forgoes the one-month deposit normally required by landlords in similar agreements.
When shown this contract, a real estate agent contacted by Times of Malta said although the agreement was legal, it was “quite odd”. “A real businessman in the real estate industry does not normally offer a client such favour-able conditions. However, it’s up to the landlord to dictate any conditions he deems fit.”
The PN first raised Ms Caruana Galizia’s claims in Parliament on Monday and yesterday held a press conference, where deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami said the agreement – published a few hours after the issue was raised in Parliament – was “not credible”.
“If the Prime Minister believes this agreement, then he believes anything the ministers will tell him,” he said.
According to the law, unlike a contract for property acquisition, a rental agreement is not registered.
Dr Fenech Adami said no one in the property rental business conceded such favourable conditions.
“This continues to increase the suspicion that the Economy Minister has a potential conflict of interest and the Prime Mini-ster is bound to come clean on the issue.”
Dr Fenech Adami also noted that until now, neither Dr Cardona nor the Prime Minister had denied the frequent presence of the minister and his staff at the “shady” bar, where the blogger alleged that drug abuse and skimpily dressed girls were present.
“For us this is not acceptable. The PN stands for much higher standards,” he said.
Reacting, Dr Cardona said the PN was trying to “invent fresh doubts” on his lease agreement. He said he would remain focused on his work of continuing to boost the economy.