Former prime minister Joseph Muscat is being investigated for a consultancy contract with a Swiss company that could have been used to disguise payments from the Vitals-Steward hospitals deal, a new investigation published today reveals.
The Times of Malta, The Shift News and OCCRP investigation has revealed that police are looking into Muscat’s bank accounts and income declarations in connection to possible corruption in the hospitals’ deal.
Investigators suspect that one consultancy contract with Swiss company SpringX Media, which netted Muscat €60,000, could have been used as a vehicle to disguise payments from the "fraudulent" hospitals deal, in plain sight, the report says.
Muscat denies the claims and said the income was from legitimate work. He further claimed that there is no investigation into his finances; to his knowledge, the inquiry is looking into his contract with SpringX Media.
In comments to MaltaToday, Muscat said the report is an "outright lie". He said that all his work is documented, and these "lies will be exposed". He said he will "continue to fight those who never forgave me for throwing them in Opposition."
Muscat received consultancy payments from SpringX Media and Accutor Consulting, both registered at the same Swiss address, the report said.
However, Accutor Consulting used to be called VGH Europe. It was switched to Accutor Consulting in January 2018, shortly before Steward Health Care took over the concession to run St Lukes, Gozo General and Karin Grech hospitals in Malta.
The consultancy contract would have allowed Muscat to receive a total of 36 separate €15,000 monthly payments, totalling €540,000, the report says.
However, the payments halted abruptly after just four months, with Muscat receiving a total of €60,000 from SpringX Media and Accutor Consulting.
Keith Schembri, Konrad Mizzi feature in probe
Apart from Muscat, former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri is also being considered a person of interest in the investigation.
Former minister Konrad Mizzi also had his home searched and his phone seized as part of the inquiry, the reports read, an. Mizzi was responsible for overseeing the hospitals deal when he was health minister, and later tourism minister.
The Times also reports that a government source said Prime Minister Robert Abela is wary of the magisterial inquiry's outcome, as he is aware of the 'meltdown' within the Labour Party that high-profile arrests and possible prosecutions could cause. It also quotes sources as saying that Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa has resisted carrying out arrests before the magisterial inquiry, which is ongoing, concludes and all evidence is collected.