Just three days after Mark Gaffarena offered to sell the State a quarter of a Valletta property he did not yet own, government architects were already assessing land he would receive in return as part-payment.

The revelation fuels suspicions that Mr Gaffarena benefited from insider information in his dealings with the government over the property, from which he made huge profit after it was expropriated. Mr Gaffarena bought a quarter of the Valletta property from Tonio Mercieca on February 26. Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon has confirmed to this newspaper that on February 13, Mr Gaffarena had already offered to sell the property to the government.

It can now be revealed that the architects’ assessment of land at Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, which was to be included in the deal as part payment to Mr Gaffarena, is dated just three days’ later, February 16.

It was after the assessment was made that Mr Gaffarena bought the Valletta property he then sold on to the government.
 
Mr Gaffarena was given €1.65 million in land and cash for the government
to acquire half ownership of the property in Old Mint Street.  

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