‘Ineligible’ expenses land Maltese academic in trouble in Slovenia

Expense claims have landed a Maltese academic in trouble with the Slovenian Government. Joseph Mifsud allegedly owes €39,000 to Slovenia-based EMUNI University for expenses claimed during his tenure as president. According to an audit report, Dr Mifsud owes €39,332 in wrongly-claimed expenses, including €14,024 in mobile phone expenses exceeding his annual allowance of €3,600 and penalties regarding “incompliance” with his handover of business duties. The Slovenian Minister of Higher Education is considering judicial proceedings in liaison with OLAF, the EU’s anti-fraud agency. Dr Mifsud said he was not employed by the Slovenian Government but by EMUNI. “For me this is a non-issue because if there is an issue we will go to litigation and we will find a solution,” he said. The PL distanced itself from Dr Mifsud, who last week addressed a press conference with Joseph Muscat on a tertiary education project. Full story in The Times.