Cardona says gift to minister was an expensive clock

Labour MP Chris Cardona said on TVAM this morning that according to information given by oil trader George Farrugia to the police, Mr Farrugia himself had given a ‘hanging clock’ to Finance Minister Tonio Fenech. The minister, who was present for the same programme, denied receiving any gift from Mr Farrugia and denied ever having formally met him. He said the ‘Maltese clock’ he had at home was certainly not worth €5,000 as Labour had claimed. Had that been the case, he would invite anybody to buy it so that he could pay off part of his loan. If Mr Farrugia has said he had given him a gift, he was ‘lying’, Mr Fenech said. He was not privy to the information which Mr Farrugia had given to the police, but the Police Commissioner had not called him about anything, Mr Fenech said. Dr Cardona said that if Mr Farrugia was lying, then he would have violated the conditions of his presidential pardon. The issue was who should be believed, Mr Fenech or Mr Farrugia. Mr Fenech said he would proceed with his libel action to deny the claims.  Dr Cardona said the minister was being evasive.   Mr Fenech said that 10 years ago, when the oil scandal took place, he was not even a minister.