The police are investigating payments received by former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat from a company that received millions from Steward Health Care as part of a wider magisterial inquiry, The Malta Independent has learnt.
That inquiry, being led by magistrate Gabriella Vella, was requested by civil society NGO Repubblika in 2019. It is looking into the way in which the government had granted the hospital privatisation concession to Vitals Global Healthcare. The concession was acquired by Steward Health Care in 2018.
On Sunday, Times of Malta reported that a Swiss company that had been involved in the concession transfer negotiations – Accutor AG – paid Muscat €60,000 for consultancy services in 2020, after he had stepped down as PM.
Repubblika on Tuesday morning filed an official police complaint, demanding an investigation into the payments sent to Muscat.
But this newsroom is informed that the VGH magisterial inquiry was already aware of the payments and is looking into them. The police and a number of court experts are assisting the inquiring magistrate.
Sources explained that the police cannot open a new investigation into the matter since the claims are already being investigated as part of the magisterial inquiry.
“The police are already working hand in hand with the inquiring magistrate who, in cases like this, takes the role of ‘lead investigator’”, a source said.
This newsroom is also informed that the magisterial inquiry has known about the payments for a number of weeks.
The police are not allowed to comment about ongoing investigations and magisterial inquiries, which are secret in nature.
In comments to Times of Malta on Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Robert Abela also pointed to the magisterial inquiry, when asked about the payments. "Naturally, she will investigate that point and she'll reach her own conclusions."
Abela said the government would respect the conclusions of the inquiry.
The PM also said that, “former prime ministers must continue to uphold their responsibilities and ethical obligations."
The payments
Times of Malta reported on Sunday that Muscat was paid €60,000 in four payments of €15,000. The first payment was received in March, two months after Muscat’s resignation.
Accutor had previously received some €3.6 million from Steward, with a €2.49 million payment being made on the same day it finalised the takeover from VGH.
The Malta Independent had revealed that Muscat had attended meetings between Steward and Prime Minister Robert Abela and had argued in favour of the health company having its concession terms renegotiated. Those negotiations are still underway, with both government and Steward refusing to say what changes are being requested.
The money was transferred to Muscat by Accutor’s Wasay Bhatti. Two former company officials who had resigned after growing suspicious of Bhatti say they are willing to cooperate with the police.