Carmen Ciantar, who served as CEO of the Foundation for Medical Studies, said Wednesday that she and her daughter had been the collateral damage in the political frame-up of Health Minister Chris Fearne.
In a statement, she said that the impact of "this pure fabrication on both my life and my daughter’s has been devastating, both professionally and personally".
She recalled that when this fake story appeared about her in the international media she had “immediately suspended myself from the post of CEO of the Foundation for Medical Services (FMS). I did so to defend myself, my institution, the ministry and the reputation of my country.”
Having absolutely nothing to hide, she said she went straight to the Police Commissioner and the Magistrate responsible for the VGH/Steward inquiry “asking them to investigate me. I offered full cooperation and unlimited disclosure. Both fully exonerated me shortly afterwards.”
“The painfully frustrating part was that I had no means of redress,” she said. “The Pakistani editor of the website running this fake story could not be traced by my legal team and other experts. Neither could we get to who financed this evil plot.
“My daughter and I were collateral damage in a political frame up perpetrated by dark forces targeting the Minister responsible for FMS, Chris Fearne. Facing these heinous public lies without knowing who is behind them and financing them has been unbearable,” she added.
Ciantar was referring to news articles on Monday which reported about a campaign to smear Fearne with "fake" corruption claims. Fearne on Tuesday filed a report with the police to investigate the news story. "The evidence revealed amounts to irrefutable proof that as Malta’s Health Minister I always stood my ministerial ground in the national interest. Around €6,500,000 were spent to fabricate a story with a single malign purpose: to politically eliminate me. This is how much filthy money was paid to try to get Chris Fearne out of the way," the former minister wrote on the social media.
In June last year, Ciantar had tendered her “suspension” from the post of CEO at the Foundation for Medical Services after a Pakistani news portal report claiming that she had received a bribe. Her self-suspension came following news report published in Pakistan that alleged she had received thousands of euros in payments from a company linked to Vitals Global Healthcare.
On 31 July 2023, she had withdrawn her suspension as investigations had exonerated her of any wrongdoing.
In her statement on Wednesday, Ciantar said that given that she occupied a public post, "this fake story created trust issues, especially with stakeholders, government colleagues and members of staff. Equally my daughter, a dentist by profession, lost a number of clients. Thankfully, our name was fully cleared pretty quickly by the police and the magistrate and so trust was restored, at least with those of good will and who distinguish fact from fiction," she said
"On a personal note, my daughter and I, along with my family including my elderly parents, suffered tremendously. It was as if we have just started to emerge from a two-month long nightmare"
Ciantar said that on Tuesday she went to the Police Commissioner for a second time. "This time I will be making a different request. That this was a frame up is a fact. Now we need to know who perpetrated it and who financed it. Quite simply, who are the dark forces who did all this, to me and my daughter, to FMS, to the Ministry and to this country? Once these questions are answered, we shall have no hesitation to explore lawsuits for damages."