Mark Camilleri, the former National Book Council Chairman who authored a sensational book on Malta’s corrupt underbelly in politics, is no longer living in the country. 

The detail was revealed during the latest sitting in the libel case Rosianne Cutajar filed against Camilleri over claims that she had an intimate relationship with Yorgen Fenech, the Tumas Group business charged with the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Cutajar denied the claims.

Camilleri was not present at the sitting having left the islands around the time his book, A Rent Seeker’s Paradise, was published. Court-appointed curators will represent Camilleri in the case. 

His book covered a wide range of topics and corruption allegations throughout Maltese history but made special reference to the period under former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s administration. 

This has included claims of sexual escapades by former minister Chris Cardona and current minister Owen Bonnici. Meanwhile, he has also since published a series of exchanges between Yorgen Fenech and a number of high profile people, including Minister Edward Zammit Lewis, former PM chief of staff Keith Schembri, and businesswoman Diane Izzo.  

The book has been a local best seller with many shocked by the claims within the book. 

The case continues in February.

What do you think of Camilleri’s decision to leave Malta?