Fresh Scrutiny On Fortina As Report Reveals Timeline Behind €40M Land Sale
A new investigation by Amphora Media has revealed how Fortina turned an €8.1 million government waiver on development restrictions into a €40 million land sale, all within just 20 days, sparking fresh scrutiny over one of the most controversial public land deals in recent years.
The report shows that on 17th July 2019, Parliament approved a waiver lifting long-standing restrictions on government land held by Fortina. Less than three weeks later, on 6th August, Fortina sold part of that same site to a company within the Bet365 corporate structure for €40 million.
The buyer, Hillside (New Media Malta Property) Ltd, is ultimately owned by Bet365 Group. Bet365 declined to comment on the deal, while Fortina’s lawyers said all transactions were “commercial entities through properly executed public deeds”.
But the investigation reveals deeper concerns.
The Numbers Behind The Flip
The restrictions were removed for €8.1 million, despite an independent valuation, later found to have been suppressed by government officials, placing the land’s value between €18.3 million and €23.9 million.
Fortina had originally acquired the land through government deeds in the 1990s for around €250,000, with strict conditions:
– No above-ground construction
– Use tied exclusively to the hotel’s extension
– Only limited structures allowed on site
A 2019 National Audit Office report later found that Fortina benefited from a €13 million undervaluation, and that a valuation of €18 million was deliberately withheld by then-Lands Authority chairman Lino Farrugia Sacco, who said it “would create problems for him.”
Fortina Had Already Secured A €40 Million Buyer, Before Restrictions Were Lifted
According to the investigation, Fortina had signed a promise of sale agreement with the Bet365-owned company in February 2018, placing an €8 million deposit on the deal, a full 18 months before Parliament voted to lift restrictions.
The Planning Authority would later approve Fortina’s application to change the use of the site to office space that same year.
After the waiver was passed in July 2019, Fortina executed the €40 million sale almost immediately. The deal included several airspace parcels, a building permit, rights to modify the car park, and exclusive ownership “free and unencumbered,” including against government claims.
This €40 million sale does not include the hotel or other Fortina-owned sites in the area.
More Questions Over Public Officials’ Role
The investigation also revisits intelligence reports showing how former Lands Authority CEO James Piscopo received more than €50,000 from companies owned by Fortina CEO Edward Zammit Tabona in the same year Parliament approved the waiver.
Piscopo declared a conflict of interest months after taking office, only after journalists questioned him. He resigned from his public posts shortly after — before being awarded an €11,800-a-month consultancy with a company part-owned by Zammit Tabona.
Both men insist the payments were private and legitimate, unrelated to the waiver.
However, the NAO found that Fortina had access to the waiver’s €8.1 million valuation before the Lands Authority Board had even met to discuss it — suggesting a significant information leak.