Friends, family members, businessmen and even a State entity chairman donated tens of thousands of euros to the individual electoral campaigns of the 67 newly elected MPs, the deputies’ declarations show.

Labour’s Parliamentary Secretary, Silvio Schembri, one of the youngest MPs, was the biggest spender at just under €30,000.

On the other hand, Claudette Buttigieg, Nationalist MP and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, incurred the lowest expense, declaring just €845 on her campaign.

According to new rules, applicable for the first time in last June’s general election, candidates were eligible to spend a maximum of €20,000 for each district on which they stood. If they contested two districts, as the majority of candidates do, they were allowed to spend up to €40,000.

All the MPs submitted sworn declarations disclosing the donations they had received and the expenses incurred

All the MPs submitted sworn declarations disclosing the donations they had received and the expenses incurred. None declared spending more than the amounts permitted by law.

The Sunday Times of Malta sifted through the dozens of declarations.

The majority were not accompanied by any receipts, and the declarations of expenses were unsupported by any documentation.

Electoral Commission sources admitted the declarations had limited value, as they could not be verified in any way.

“Since there is no obligation to present proof of expenditure, we are just resting on what MPs are declaring,” a commission member said.

“The only value is that they are sworn, and so if any evidence is brought to contradict what the MPs declare, then they might be in trouble. However, many people read these declarations with a pinch of salt,” another member said.