Disciplinary action was taken against a Building Industry Consultative Council official for irregular use of vehicles, including by the chairman, former Labour MP Charles Buhagiar, Times of Malta learnt.

Although an internal inquiry also found irregularities in the use of the chairman’s official car, the Times of Malta was informed that, so far, no action had been taken against him.

The investigation was ordered by the Transport Ministry’s permanent secretary, Christopher Cutajar, in April after information on rampant abuse reached Minister Ian Borg.

It was alleged, among other things, that Mr Buhagiar, who was appointed BICC head in 2013, had allowed his official BMW 320 to be used by his wife and he leased another car, paid for by the council, which also hires a driver for him.

The BMW used to be seen parked outside his home in Attard, and his wife was frequently spotted driving it, sources said. There were also allegations of abuse related to the use of other BICC vehicles by various employees and the procurement of fuel without any receipts being issued.

Mr Buhagiar told Malta Today a few days after the internal investigation started that he had leased a second car for his official use while the ‘formal’ car was being used by his wife.

He also said that the BMW had a faulty gearbox and he decided it was not worth paying €7,000 to repair it. He told Malta Today he had decided the car would only be used for short trips.

A Transport Ministry spokeswoman said a number of administrative deficiencies had been found as a result of the inquiry.

“As such, disciplinary action was instituted onto the entity’s head of finance and administration, and remedial actions are in progress,” she said.

When asked why no action was taken against Mr Buhagiar, since the main claims appeared to surround him and his wife’s unauthorised use of an official car, the spokeswoman replied: “The remedial actions are in progress, meaning the process is still not finalised.”

She did not reply when asked whether Dr Borg has asked for Mr Buhagiar’s resignation.

BICC sources told Times of Malta that, so far, administrative secretary Frans Chircop had carried all the blame and the chairman had been allowed to get off scot-free.

Some council members were insisting to Dr Borg to do the right thing and force Mr Buhagiar to leave his post, the sources noted.

For some time, Mr Buhagiar also served as the Prime Minister’s consultant for capital projects.