Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon yesterday refused to be drawn into surmising the government’s intentions for the second half of a palace in Old Mint Street, Valletta, after two fourths of it had already been expropriated.

Dr Falzon based his reticence on two ongoing investigations into the deals and said he would make no further comment until both results had been published.

The deals were done between the Land Department and developer Mark Gaffarena. They have been hugely controversial because Mr Gaffarena made a massive profit from buying the two parts of the property from private hands and selling them on to the government.