The Malta Financial Services Authority has informed the Times of Malta it has decided “not to proceed further” on a news report about the Manoel Island project.

Under the title ‘Tumas Group to take over Manoel island project’, Times of Malta reported on October 9 that the group would be buying the majority of shares in the project from Midi plc.

Referring to a company announcement by Midi that no preliminary agreement had been struck with the Tumas Group and that talks were ongoing, the MFSA had asked this newspaper to provide it “with justifications relating to the publication of the media report”.

In a subsequent communication, the financial services watchdog asked the Times of Malta to disclose the sources of the information contained in the report.

Times of Malta objected and its legal adviser informed the MFSA the request was in breach of journalistic freedoms and the newspaper’s rights and obligations at law.

The MFSA replied saying that, “mindful of your client’s fundamental rights and freedoms”, it “decided not to proceed further on this matter”.

It said it wanted “to clarify that its requests for information are aimed at enhancing market integrity and protecting investors”, noting that, by law, any information transmitted to it was treated as strictly confidential.

Late last week, the Representative on Freedom of the Media of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Harlem Désir, has called on the MFSA to drop its request to Times of Malta insisting that the confidentiality of journalistic sources is an important element of media freedom.