A former official of Malta’s Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools has been found not guilty of bribery by a court. 

Edward Caruana, who had been then-minister Evarist Bartolo’s chief canvasser since 1992, was charged in December 2017, following allegations of corruption by FTS CEO Philip Rizzo.

Rizzo first made the claims in November 2016, saying that Caruana dished out some  €8 million worth of government contracts and took bribes in return. He said that Caruana falsified invoices.

Giovann Vella also claimed that Caruana had asked him for a pay-off while he was bidding for a tender.

However, no sufficient evidence was presented to the courts that could prove Caruana was taking bribes. Still, Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech did order a police investigation into the false invoices. 

Caruana was appointed as the manager of the Foundation for Tomorrow Schools, which was responsible for multi-million school projects soon after the 2013 election. He was suspended on half pay from his position once he was charged. 

What do you think of the verdict?