Dubious directs and jobs handed out to Daniel Bogdanovic by his girlfriend Education Minister Justyne Caruana were immediately approved by the Office of the Prime Minister and Finance Ministry with no questions asked. 

A Standards Commissioner’s report into a €5,900 a month direct order dished out to Bogdanovic by the Education Ministry for work he never conducted has revealed intricate details of the scandal. 

The Standards Commissioner has described Caruana’s actions as an “abuse of power” and a criminal investigation has been opened.

Bogdanovic was first put on the government’s community workers scheme in 2017, first working under the Gozo Ministry, which at a time was headed by Caruana. He remained there when she resigned over her estranged husband, Silvio Valletta’s links to the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

On 2nd December, barely a week after Justyne Caruana was reinstated to Prime Minister Robert Abela’s Cabinet as Education Minister, OPM authorised the employment of Bogdanovic within Caruana’s private secretariat. The contract was approved by Glenn Micallef, the OPM chief of staff.

He was first employed as a customer care official – the highest pay he could get. He was also given a laptop and a secretariat car, which he used regularly, even keeping it parked outside his home.

That was not enough and on 16th December, Caruana lodged a request to give Bogdanovic a €20,000 direct order for work within Gozitan schools. 

That request was approved immediately by the Finance Ministry.

The media quickly got wind of the direct order, but Caruana denied any association at the time. In January, Caruana ordered that a new request be sent, for Bogdanovic to write a report on the National Sports School, for €5,900 a month.

These payments were all on top of his salary at the ministry, where he still works to this day. 

Abela has so far refused to take any action against Caruana, who he had reinstated and backed after her previous resignation. 

What do you think of the latest details?