Mark Gaffarena has filed an injunction against the part-owners of the Valletta property at the centre of a political storm in an attempt to prevent them selling to the government – an action that would deprive him of a huge profit.

The injunction was filed on Wednesday against the Cefai family, owners of another part of the property in Old Mint Street, which is set to be expropriated by the government.

Since May 31, The Sunday Times of Malta has exposed details of the expropriation deals, prompting two investigations in what the Opposition has described as the “biggest scandal” to hit the Lands Department.

Pressure has been mounting since this newspaper uncovered the deal that cost taxpayers at least €1.65 million for the expropriation of half the Valletta property in two separate contracts earlier this year.

On the second sale, Mr Gaffarena made a profit of €685,000 just a few weeks after buying a section of the property.

The government’s decision to go for a staggered expropriation has been described as a highly unusual process.

Moreover, the government dealt only with Mr Gaffarena rather than approaching the other owners directly which would have saved the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of euros.

When this newspaper had asked government why it had chosen to buy only half the property and only after Mr Gaffarena acquired it, it said it intended to expropriate the rest of the property next year when budgets permitted.

Gaffarena: attempt to prevent the sale to third parties

Meanwhile, Mr Gaffarena had been signing promise of sale agreements with the rest of the property owners in the knowledge that the government intends to expropriate the additional parts from him for a much higher price.

The other owners of the property only learnt of Mr Gaffarena’s deals when The Sunday Times of Malta revealed the first two expropriations.

This led Mr Gaffarena to summon the owners on one of the promise of sale agreements – for €139,762 – to close the sale last Monday. The owners did not turn up.

The owner of another quarter of the property – Tonio Mercieca – has already told this newspaper he sold his share to Mr Gaffarena for the same amount last February.

Things could have been done better

But he learnt from this newspaper the government decided to expropriate it a few weeks after it was sold. Mr Gaffarena, who had infamously made the headlines over the Luqa Road petrol station illegalities, made a profit of €685,000.

The sum Mr Gaffarena received for half the property already amounts to €1.65 million.

The government was set to pay the same amount for the other half, leaving Mr Gaffarena with another hefty profit, had this newspaper not exposed the first two contracts.

New revelations on the deals by Times of Malta and Malta Today have surfaced on almost a daily basis over the past three weeks.

Apart from the timings of the staggered expropriation, independent architects commissioned by this newspaper to assess the seven parcels of land Mr Gaffarena received as payment showed they were extremely undervalued.

The value of the land he was given in Tal-Ħandaq, for example, was reduced by 90 per cent because of illegal buildings on site.

Yet, the Mepa enforcement notice on the site hosting Taċ-Ċavett entertainment venue cites Mr Gaffarena as the one responsible for the breach, meaning he ended up being rewarded for disregarding planning laws.

Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon has denied any political interference, insisting procedures had been followed. However, he admitted “things could have been done better”.

Tuesday’s edition of Times Talk will discuss the Gaffarena scandal. TVM 6.45pm.