The charity chaired by the Prime Minister’s wife, Michelle Muscat, received €200,000 in cash from Bank of Valletta, in which the government is a major shareholder.
A contract between the bank and Marigold Foundation provided for an “initial endowment” of €200,000 in cash to be used as “initial” foundation capital when it was set up in 2014.
The contract says the initial capital “may in future be increased through further contributions” by the bank.
A Bank of Valletta spokesman said earlier this week it would not be ethical to disclose the extent of its funding to the foundation.
“As you are aware, the bank supports different areas as part of its corporate social responsibility such as arts and culture, heritage, education, environment, philanthropy and sports.
“I am sure you appreciate it is not ethical to divulge the level of support that the bank extends to these different areas. Bank of Valletta’s community relations programme is the executive arm of our CSR principles and provides a framework through which the bank reinvests into the community,” the spokesman said.
The foundation’s executive secretary, Jennifer Xuereb, said the endowment given by the bank was “roughly equivalent” to what Bank of Valletta had donated to other organisations in the past.
The bank is represented on the foundation’s board of administrators by its chief financial officer, Elvia George.
The endowment was roughly equivalent to what BOV had donated to other organisations in the past
Ms Muscat features prominently on the foundation’s website, appearing in nine of 10 photos showcasing the charity’s work. The foundation’s stated aim is to “empower people and to work with them to raise standards, support initiatives and strengthen voices”.
The foundation has been at the centre of a controversy over the past week after this newspaper reported that 14 female inmates at Corradino prison complained they had been owed over €16,000 for sewing curtains, clothes and 400 costumes for the Commonwealth summit. The project was supported by the foundation.
The report led to a strong reaction by Mrs Muscat, who accused the media of being negative. She challenged the press to write positive stories about the project.
Most of the inmates have been paid their dues since.
The foundation is entitled to 10 per cent of the proceeds from the project called Love, Faith, Forgiveness for its victim support initiative.
The project is not a registered NGO.
Both Mrs Muscat and Mary Grace Pisani, who runs the project, blamed the delay in payments on CHOGM. Contacted earlier this week, CHOGM task force head Phyllis Muscat said all bills had been paid.
“CHOGM abided by procurement regulations and paid all its services accordingly. Any delays could have resulted from the fact that there are strict accountable procedures to ensure full transparency in processing of payments,” she said.
Ms Muscat did say that Ms Pisani was chosen to provide the 400 costumes made by inmates for the CHOGM opening ceremony.