Heathcliff Farrugia, the CEO of the Maltese Games Authority (MGA) until he resigned in 2020, was found guilty of sharing confidential information with Jorgen Fenech, the owner of a number of casinos, including Hilton Malta and Portomaso casinos, and who was blamed for the killing of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The court found Farrugia guilty of leaking details of an impending audit at a rival gaming facility owned by Eden Leisure Group.
A text message to Fenech for informing the former MGA boss about the upcoming casino audit
Prosecutors constructed the case based on data extracted from Fenech’s phone when it was seized at the time of his 2019 arrest. The device was later investigated after Europol identified a series of messages sent between him and Farrugia. As reported by The Times of Malta, the text shows that the former MGA boss tipped off Fenech about the upcoming prosecution at a rival casino not connected to his Toomas gaming company.
During the exchange, Fenech mentioned an anti-money laundering review of his casino, which damaged the reputations of Portomaso and Oracle (both owned by Fenech). Farrugia then said the findings had not yet been made public and promised to do what he could to delay their release.
He went a step further, revealing information about another set of investigations into Casino Malta owned by Eden Leisure Group. 안전 슬롯사이트
Court ruling against former MGA CEO highlights confidentiality violations
During the hearing, Inspector General George Frendo testified how these messages represented confidential violations committed by Farrugia. But Farrugia claimed the revelations were only meant to console Fenech and show that such measures were taken across the entire sector.
Magistrate Ian Farrugia, who presided over the case, ultimately ruled that there was a breach of professional obligations, and Farrugia said the information was expected to remain confidential as it was highly confidential.
Farrugia was found guilty by the court, but this time he was given a conditional discharge sentence not to fine, but further violations would be considered conditional discharge. Farrugia still plans to appeal the decision.
Farrugia resigned from the MGA after being questioned by officers representing the Maltese police force, who believed there was grounds for further action. His time at the MGA saw him occupy various positions before eventually rising to the top post in 2018. The MGA has so far come under further scrutiny following the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder investigation, which has caused significant political fallout within Malta.
