Updated | Government suggests broader audit into consultants' selection process

Opposition MPs Tonio Fenech, Claudio Grech and Kristy Debono have asked the Auditor General to investigate the selection process which led to the choice of a legal firm to provide consultancy services to the Privatisation Unit.

Economy Minister Chris Cardona has been accused of having instructed the Privatisation Unit on which legal firm to choose in a recent competitive process for legal consultancy in the pre-drafting, adjudication, negotiations and final agreements of an expression of interest for the granting of two new casino licences.

In a statement, the Nationalist Party said Cardona had called on Finance Minister Edward Scicluna to "sanction his decision and asked for the approval of a direct order for his choice".

In a reaction, government members sitting on the Public Accounts Committee proposed the Auditor General's investigation should be wider and include practices adopted by the PN administration in the appointment of consultants.

"The investigation should delve into the appointment of firms providing consultancy services, especially those which provided services to the Finance Ministry," the Labour MPs sitting on the PAC said.

They added that such contracts "were mostly awarded by the former minister, through direct orders, to the same few persons based on unknown criteria".

Quizzed by the press over a month ago, Cardona said his actions stemmed from a political decision to change the criteria on which contracts were awarded.

"What was incorrect," Cardona said when asked whether it was proper for a minister to intervene in public tenders, "were the millions in direct orders awarded by the former government."

"The direct orders used to be granted to the same five families," Cardona had told the press.

On his part, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had declared the Privatisation Union should have never been involved in the first place. Muscat argued that this was not a tender which therefore did not necessitate the involvement of the Privatisation Unit.

"I cannot understand why the Privatisation Unit was involved at this stage," Muscat said, adding that references to the contracts as "tenders" were factually incorrect. He also said there had never been a tendering process and the advice given by the Privatisation Unit was non-binding.