Foreign Minister’s son-in-law worked with Sai Mizzi on Huawei ‘deal’

The Foreign Minister gave an interview to Times of Malta a couple of days ago in which he said he knows nothing about Sai Mizzi Liang or her whereabouts, and has no idea where she may be contacted.

But today the government held a press conference about a ‘deal’ signed with the Chinese telecoms corporation Huawei, in which the Foreign Minister’s son-in-law, Joseph Cuschieri, played a prominent part as the man working with Sai Mizzi Liang in these negotiations.

Cuschieri is married to the Foreign Minister’s daughter. He is the executive chairman of the Malta Gaming Authority – appointed to the post by the incoming Labour government in 2013.

The press did not report Cuschieri’s relationship to the Foreign Minister.

The government said that he was chosen to work on the negotiations because of his “technical background”, but it did not say that before taking the top job at the Malta Gaming Authority, Cuschieri worked for Vodafone Malta for many years.

At today’s ‘deal-signing’ and press conference, the government was represented by the prime minister and – inexplicably – not by Economy Minister Chris Cardona but by his underling, Parliamentary Secretary Jose Herrera. Cardona was nowhere to be seen.

The Economy Ministry is also responsible for the Malta Gaming Authority, which is overseen by Herrera, reporting to Chris Cardona.

Joseph Cuschieri, the foreign minister’s son-in-law and executive chairman of the Malta Gaming Authority, marked in red

The foreign minister said that he does not know where consul Sai Mizzi Liang may be contacted and hasn’t a clue what she is doing, but today it emerged that his son-in-law Joseph Cuschieri (in picture) has been working with her for the last year or so on the Huawei ‘deal’