Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo has stood by Malta Tourism Authority CEO Johann Buttigieg despite revelations that he had a close relationship with Yorgen Fenech, the prime suspect in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case. 

“The Prime Minister spoke about this already and he was clear and unequivocal that Johann Buttigieg had no business with Yorgen Fenech,” Bartolo said earlier today.

“Buttigieg is doing a good job as the CEO of the Malta Tourism Authority. I stand by what the Prime Minister says,” he continued. 

Last week, it was revealed that Buttigieg, who was the CEO of the Planning Authority at the time, had a close relationship with Fenech, even discussing getting into business with suspected murder mastermind. 

In a private conversation, Fenech offered to partner with Buttigieg on a property development he was looking to take over from Joe Portelli, the Gozitan construction magnate.

Yesterday, Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis also chimed in on the issue, stating that he has “no doubt” that the Prime Minister will make the right choice on what to do with Buttigieg. 

Zammit Lewis himself has been accused of having close relations with Fenech after it was revealed that the two exchanged over 700 messages between January and October 2019.

In November, Lovin Malta also revealed that Zammit Lewis, together with then Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had stayed at a luxurious hotel owned by Fenech for free in 2014. Both Muscat and Zammit Lewis have insisted that they paid their own way, but three months down the line, no proof has been forthcoming that shows that this is the case.  

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