Standards czar has 27 pending investigations

The Standards Commissioner has 27 pending cases which stretch back to before September 2022, information tabled in parliament shows.

Nationalist MP Karol Aquilina asked Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia on the number of requests for investigations made to the Standards Czar Joseph Azzopardi which are still pending.

Farrugia said there were 12 pending cases when former commissioner George Hyzler stepped down from the role.

The former judge was appointed by simple parliamentary majority after failing to garner a two thirds majority after two rounds of parliamentary voting.

The appointment was riddled with controversy after talks between Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition leader Bernard Grech failed to reach consensus on former standards czar George Hyzler’s replacement. Hyzler’s term ended prematurely in September after he took up his post in the European Court of Auditors.

The Speaker said that from 1 October 2022 to 7 March 2023, 15 new complaints were filed to the Standards Commissioner office, when the post was vacant.

From 8 March to the day the parliamentary question was answered, five new complaints were filed. Out of all these complaints, so far five have been resolved.

Out of the 27 requests to investigate, Farrugia said 12 are under investigation and 15 are in the preliminary consideration stage. This means the Standards Commissioner is still considering whether the complaint merits a further investigation or not.

From the 12 investigations, 11 are under active investigation, whilst one has been suspended as it deals with a case that is the subject of a magisterial inquiry.

Farrugia said there are no ongoing investigations which stemmed from the commissioner’s own initiative.

He said the pending complaints relate to public statements and PQs which are not truthful, asset declarations, abuse of public resources or goods, non-compliance with development permit laws, nepotism, and conflict of interest.