Malta’s government will begin an executive search for a new leader of the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), as Heathcliff Farrugia confirmed that he would not be renewing his CEO tenure.
An MGA executive since 2014, Farrugia was appointed Chief Executive of Malta gambling’s regulatory and licensing authority back in 2018, replacing long-term incumbent Joseph Cuschieri.
Farrugia confirmed to local news sources that he had requested the government not to renew his leadership terms as MGA CEO, which expires at the start of next year.
Declaring his resignation, Farrugia reportedly wants to establish a new business with MGA Chief Regulatory Officer Karl Brincat Peplow.
With Farrugia as CEO, MGA focused on expanding its money-laundering, auditing and conduct monitoring of licensees, forming a number of international cooperation agreements with European regulatory counterparts and sporting bodies.
2020 has seen significant change across Malta’s government ranks, following the abrupt resignation of former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat at the start of the year, having been implicated in the direct infringement of the investigation of the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Malta’s governing Labour Party would appoint Robert Abela as the new Prime Minister, undertaking a swift overhaul of Malta’s executive cabinet in which all Muscat appointments were asked to resign.
Farrugia’s replacement has been earmarked as a critical appointment by PM Abela’s office, taking leadership of a key government agency governing a sector that contributes 7,500 direct jobs and approximately €1.5bn to the country’s economy.
