Ram Tumuluri, the former face of Vitals Global Healthcare, has denied that former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat received payments from VGH, MaltaToday reports.

His lawyer, in a statement to the newspaper, described Tumuluri as “a lawful whistleblower who has bravely came forward to disclose illegal activity by current and/or former senior Maltese government officials and current and/or former officials with Steward Health Care”.

While denying that VGH gave money to Muscat, Tumuluri said the payments reported in the media are associated with Steward Health Care, taking place after the concession was transferred, MaltaToday reports.

“Mr Tumuluri has no knowledge of these nor, consequently, whether such allegations against Steward Health care or Mr Muscat are true. In any event, they do not concern him or VGH.”

A 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.

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, the investigation reveals.

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 Times report had said.