Civil service head Mario Cutajar has accepted Ray Camilleri’s resignation as director-general of the government property department.

Mr Cutajar’s spokeswoman said that in his resignation letter on Monday Mr Camilleri cited “family health issues” as the only reason for the resignation.

This was reiterated in the exchanges Mr Camilleri had with Mr Cutajar, she added.

“Given that what had been discussed by the Principal Permanent Secretary [Mario Cutajar] and Mr Ray Camilleri was made public in the media, the request for his resignation was accepted,” she said. She explained that Mr Camilleri’s resignation is to become effective on August 27, when he will report for work in a new department.

Mr Camilleri resigned at a critical time for the government property department, which is at the centre of two ongoing investigations over the expropriation of half a building in Valletta.

In June, The Sunday Times of Malta revealed how the government expropriated half a Valletta building from Marco Gaffarena for €1.6 million in cash and land.

After the report, the Prime Minister ordered an investigation into the deal by the Internal Audit and Investigations Department. The National Audit Office also started its own probe.

Subsequently, this newspaper revealed a planned second expropriation involving Palazzo Verdelin, which houses the Valletta police station. The ultimate beneficiary would have also been Mr Gaffarena, who was negotiating with other owners of the palazzo to buy them out.

Both the IAID and NAO investigations have been extended to include the Palazzo Verdelin case.

The Nationalist Party has warned against Mr Camilleri being used as a “sacrificial lamb” in the Gaffarena scandal.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com