Why hasn’t the Foreign Minister demanded the resignation of Malta’s ambassador to the Holy See?

Days have gone by since this website broke the news that George Buttigieg, Malta’s ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican) has for the last five years been in business with corrupt senior police officers Ray Zammit – former acting Commissioner of Police – and his sons Daniel and Roderick, both police inspectors, and with Joe Gaffarena.

Malta’s ambassador to the Holy See set up a company called St Gabriel’s Residential Homes Ltd in 2010 with Joe Gaffarena, Ray Zammit, Daniel Zammit and Roderick Zammit. The ambassador knew full well that this was highly irregular not just because they were police officers, and senior ones at that, but also because Daniel Zammit was at the time supposed to be investigating and prosecuting Joe Gaffarena’s son-in-law.

Daniel Zammit was also, at the time, married to the ambassador’s daughter, Gabrielle aka Gaby, who has reverted to her maiden name since the brief marriage broke down. St Gabriel’s Residential Homes Ltd was registered on incorporation to the office address of the ambassador’s daughter, who is a lawyer. She was also company secretary until December 2012. The company appears to have been named for her.

Ambassador Buttigieg resigned his directorship of the company in December 2012 at the same time his daughter resigned as company secretary. This was around the time the marriage broke down, but he retained his shareholding in toto.

In June last year, just before his appointment as acting Commissioner of Police was announced, Ray Zammit transferred his shares in the company to his wife Jane, a kindergarten assistant at Mosta Primary School. His sons Roderick and Daniel did the same. Joe Gaffarena transferred his to his son Michael, a dentist in his 20s working at Mater Dei Hospital.

The shareholders of St Gabriel Residential Homes Ltd were, between 2010 and 2014, Joe Gaffarena, Malta’s ambassador to the Holy See, Deputy Commissioner of Police/Assistant Commissioner Ray Zammit and police inspectors Daniel and Roderick Zammit.

Since June last year, the shareholders are Malta’s ambassador to the Holy See, Michael Gaffarena and Mrs Ray Zammit, each of whom holds a third of the company shares.

In the ensuing furore of this scandal, most people have missed the fact that there is an ambassador involved. The press has not picked up on it at all, and nor has the Opposition’s spokesman on Foreign Affairs.

In the light of what we know now, George Buttigieg, a retired gynaecologist and prominent player in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, is not suitable at all to represent Malta as a senior diplomat. His delegation to the Holy See of all places now constitutes a serious offence, in the context of what has emerged, to the Vatican.

This government has made several questionable and even ridiculous political appointments as ambassadors, but as far as we can see, none of them has entered into business with corrupt senior policemen, knowing full well the extent of the abuse in that one of them was investigating the son-in-law of a fellow shareholder, and with a very shady operator.

George Buttigieg was made ambassador to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta by the Nationalist government but was one of just two ambassadors retained by the incoming Labour government, which reappointed him to another ambassadorship – to the Holy See.