The Prime Minister will attempt to reclaim the public assets given to Mark Gaffarena in the controversial expropriation of a Valletta property if any wrongdoing is established, a government spokesman confirmed.

Joseph Muscat has asked the Attorney General what legal options are open to the government should the two investigations into the scandal revealed by this newspaper expose fraud or corruption.

The deal is also likely to be contested if it emerges that the value of public land given to Mr Gaffarena exceeds 30 per cent of the value of the expropriated land.

Pressure has been mounting since The Sunday Times of Malta revealed the €1.65 million expropriation of half a property in Old Mint Street from Mr Gaffarena 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. He was also given land that suited his commercial needs valued at half its worth.

Reacting, the Opposition said this move was unprecedented. “It’s an acknowledgement by the Prime Minister that this case stinks,” said shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi.

More in The Sunday Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.