Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat received a severance package of €120,000, equivalent to two years’ salary after his resignation as Prime Minister in January 2020. 

The Shift News reported that Muscat received a golden handshake of €120,128.40 upon leaving office. The information was obtained following a series of FOI requests. 

Muscat was forced to resign after the arrest of Yorgen Fenech, the suspected mastermind in the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, when it became apparent that efforts were underway by the Office of Prime Minister to cover up the murder plot. 

The payment falls under a “Terminal and Transition Benefit” scheme introduced in 2004. It was approved by the Cabinet at the time, though the details of the scheme were never made public.

The scheme covers the payment of benefits to former Prime Ministers and Cabinet members, as well as leaders of the Opposition. 

According to a document tabled in parliament in 2008, which includes the calculations for such benefits, Prime Ministers are entitled to a terminal benefit equivalent to a month’s salary for every year of service in the post. 

The minimum possible benefit, according to the 2008 calculations, is six months’ salary, which in Muscat’s case would have been €56,880 and additional allowances. 

An exercise by the Malta Independent in January 2020 had Muscat’s estimated package at around €135,000 over three years.